Evil in Love
by PsychoRiddler
Summary: Tom Riddle loving someone? What's worse is that he falls in love with the enemy. A story that can change the course of the future...but will it? PLEASE review, as they help improve my story. Thanks.
1. The First Feelings

A/N: This is my first fanfic. It's going to be a long and eventful story. There are some MAJOR inaccuracies here (I know that), including time frame (especially time frame!) and other details, but why does it matter? What's the fun of it anyway if you can't change a few things, right? So please read on and enjoy!

Summary: Tom Riddle struggles with being a teenager and attempting to be a Dark Lord at the same time. He must decide whether he really does love the new girl at school or whether he is only using her powers to fulfill great powerful things in the future. And how important is this woman to him? What is she like? Who is she and what other problems may that cause? And yes, like I said before, I suck at summaries. Sorry about that! Now please, enjoy! And please, take the time to read it and review! It means a lot and it's very appreciated because this is my first fanfiction ever and I would very much like to know how I've done. Thank you.

He thought she loved him.

She thought he loved her.

They both loved each other

for a very short period of time.

But love caused danger between them.

And soon arises Voldemort.

Tom had known her for four months now. He was sitting in Potions class, just like everyone else, and there came in, a new student, late. She had such silky red hair that ran down to the middle of her back and she contained deep green eyes, that seemed to flash sometimes. She looked just like any other girl, an ordinary girl, and there seemed to be nothing special about her.  
When he looked at her, all he thought was"Psh. A new student." When he found out she belonged to the Gryffindor part of class, which was mixed with Slytherins, he had even less respect for her. He couldn't care less about this woman. Four months later and he cared a lot.

The first few days in Potions, this girl had embarrassed herself so badly. She had so much trouble with her work and created so many explosions in class that the Potions teacher, Mr Warwick, was starting to get fed up with her. Tom would laugh at her in his head, thinking about what a moron this new girl was. When he saw her embarrass herself, he just couldn't help himself but to shake his head ashamedly, along with a couple of his Slytherin friends.

Because Tom was the best student in class, Mr Warwick made him tutor her after school in that same dungeon classroom. She was a quiet girl who was just too blind, too gullible.

"I cannot believe you're making me do such a thing, Sir" Tom protested, looking at the frightened new girl standing silently in the corner, afraid that she was making him angry.

"She needs help, Mr Riddle, and you will be the one to tutor her. You have no choice. I'm going to make sure you'll do your job. I'll be watching you."

With a heavy sigh and an angry growl, Tom accepted bitterly. He was to tutor her after every Potions class when Potions class would be the last class of the day.

Weeks later and this girl improved tremendously. She made the best potions in class and Tom had seen her practise magic outside. He had seen her do incredible things, things even he was not capable of. That did not make him jealous, but somewhat impressed.

"Hmmm" he thought"she might be of much use to me after all."

He knew how vulnerable she was, how easy it was to manipulate her, and he took that to his advantage.

It was his eighth tutorial with her, and seeing that he had been helping her for so long, Mr Warwick stopped supervising him. Just as soon as Warwick left the cold drafty dungeon, Tom demanded this girl to hold out her wand.

"What? But I thought we were making potions."

"Just do as I say."

The girl held her wand out and for the rest of the hour, Tom asked her to do certain spells and taught her some new ones. He trained her and realized that she was a quick learner.

After three months of tutorials, which was less of Potions tutorials but more of powerful magic spells, Tom's student became very powerful. She was much more advanced with magic now, one of the best of Gryffindor perhaps. But no matter how powerful this girl was, she was still vulnerable, still blind. Tom was aware of the greatness of her power but she was not.  
To gain her trust, Tom had spied on this girl to find out more about her and started conversations with her in the hallway. This girl did not know why he was acting so friendly to her all of a sudden, and had decided that he grew to accept and like her.

One day, the girl was having an awful dispute with James Potter, a mischievous boy who was also in her fifth grade and in her House. After her fight with him, she ran off crying. Tom saw the whole fight but pretended not to.

He pretended to bump into her in the hallway and asked with fake sympathy, "Are you alright?"

"Yes." the girl sobbed.

"You don't look alright. It's that nasty Potter boy, isn't it?"

The girl slowly nodded and wiped her tears away from her blotchy red eyes.

"You know, perhaps I shall teach him a lesson. Would you like that?"

"Oh please don't," the girl begged. "It isn't a very nice thing to do. He doesn't deserve anything nasty."

"Lily" he told her"you can't run away from your problems like that! It's important for you to face them! What have I taught you?"

"To face my problems, to overpower others."

"Exactly! And are you doing that? No, instead you're running away from them. You're afraid, Lily, you're a coward."

"No, no, I'm not."

"Prove it to me."

"It's ok, really, it's alright. Just let it go this time, ok, Tom?"

"Fine, but if he ever goes near you again-"

"I'll let you know."

One week later, Tom caught Lily and James having an even nastier fight this time in the hallway. He came in, held his wand up high, and mumbled a few latin words for a spell. All of a sudden, James was hanging upside down in the air high up. Everyone around stopped, pointed and laughed at James who was begging to be let back down. Tom noticed that even Lily found it funny, and he felt a great feeling inside.

"If I ever catch you bothering Lily again, it's going to be worse next time."

"Put me down! Put me down!" James begged.

"As you wish." And with a flick of his wand, James dropped to the ground and had his glasses fly across the room floor.

"You're not very nice, you know that? I thought you were a good man, Tom, with those looks and you being a Prefect and all" James grumbled, picking up his glasses.

"I am a good man, James. I just made Lily Evans a lot happier. Isn't that a good thing?"

James reassembled himself and stomped off in embarrassment and anger. Everyone else watched him, then proceeded to their own business, pretending they saw nothing.

"Wow" Lily muttered. "You actually did something for me. And I thought you hated me."

"Me" Tom asked with a false surprised tone in his voice"I wouldn't hate you. Of course not. Why would I hate someone like you?"

And at that moment, poor young Lily started feeling something for evil but brilliant Tom Riddle.

Lily could not stop thinking about him. She daydreamed about him so often that she couldn't pay very much attention in class. In Potions, she stared at him and when he caught her in the act of it, he asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

But he knew. He realized she was starting to feel for him, which was pretty much his plan.

"Now," he thought, "I have gained your trust, Lily Evans, and so I shall put that to use."

He told her to meet him after school outside behind a tree. He was thinking of telling her his plan, his plan of unleashing and controlling the Basilisk to kill those filthy mudbloods in the school. His plan of framing someone. He knew he couldn't frame her, nobody would believe it. Nobody was that much of a fool. So he thought twice, and instead of telling her his plan, he just decided to tell her what to do without giving any information about it.

When Lily met Tom behind a tree after school, she thought he was going to tell her about his feelings for her.

"You must listen to me, Lily. This is important." came out Tom's first words to her as they met. His expression was serious.

"I have something to say too," Lily told him.

"Can I say my thing first?"

"Of course," Lily replied with a smile.

"I need you to do something for me. Will you do it?"

"Yes. Anything for you, Tom."

"I need you to get me Rubeus Hagrid."

Lily's smile faded. "Why?"

"Because. He's important to me."

"And what about me?"

"What about you?"

"Am I not important to you? I thought you fancied me. Because I fancy you. I really do care for you, Tom."

"Not now, Lily."

"Everyday I dream about you, Tom. I've been waiting for quite some time now for you to express your love for me in return. And now that you've brought me here, you expect me to run some errand for you."

Tom couldn't lose her now. He still needed her.  
"Alright, alright. Just settle down"

She was no longer shy, she actually had the courage to tell him her feelings about him. She began sobbing, and he held her in his arms to hush her up. He didn't want to attract anyone's attention or cause a commotion of some sort.  
After she calmed down, she kissed him right on the lips. He didn't even let her stop. He felt something strange, something sensational, something great. He had never felt this way before. There was so much sorrow and hatred in his life that this moment was probably the greatest he had ever experienced. He did not feel lust, it was love, love alright. He could not believe he was experiencing such a thing. They stopped kissing, and Lily took a step back.  
The air felt even warmer on his back, it being Spring and all, with flowers blossoming everywhere, giving colourful tones to the surroundings. It felt like love was everywhere, even in the air. That was what the flowers signaled in Spring. Love.

"I felt something Tom, didn't you?"

He looked away. He couldn't bear to stand the truth. He's never felt this way for anyone before. His father had abondoned him because his mother was a witch. It was very much his father who had caused all this sorrow in his life. His mother died. She died! And all his father could do was leave and spend time in his filthy mansion. Tom never learned to love and never learned the meaning of it. Back at the orphanage before coming to Hogwarts, he was a complete outcast.

"I don't know, I really don't know."

"Don't lie to me, Tom."

"Alright, perhaps I felt something. Is there something wrong with that."

"No there isn't, Tom."

"Exactly, then why are you-"

"No, it's you, Tom. You're the one ashamed of feeling something."

She turned to leave but he grabbed her.

"Wait. I need to know something," he said slowly.

"What?"

He moved closely to her, put both his hands on her soft cheeks, closed his eyes, and kissed her again. This kiss lasted a moment longer. They both stopped and she stared at him with her deep green eyes. They really entranced him.

"Do you know it now" she asked.

He couldn't stop looking into her vivid eyes. "I...I think I do. But I can't. It's not true. It's not possible." Her eyes were the colour of fresh grass in an early morning of Spring. They reminded him of the leaves of the jungle. He only realized then how beautiful and exotic her eyes were.

"What? Haven't you ever loved anyone before, Tom?"

"I have only loved one person in my life and that was my mother yet I have never even known her. I've never learned to love, Lily. That is what you must understand."

"But you love ME, don't you?"

"Perhaps."

"You do. I know you do. We've been sitting in that dungeon together so many times, we're fools to not have seen it before. And when I did see it, that it was more than just lust, more than just a simple crush, you saw it too. You were just too afraid. Too ashamed to admit that you are in love and"

He pressed his finger on her lips to silence her. "I'll meet you again some other time."

"And I will wait for you," she said, as she watched him go.

One thing that noone knew was that James Potter was watching from afar.

Tom walked straight to his dormitory room, and slammed his door shut. He had so many mixed feelings, so many brewed thoughts. He paced around, yelling at himself.

"What are you doing, Tom? You were supposed to use her! You were supposed tomake use of her extraordinary powers! I can't let my heart be in the way!"

He spun around, shaking his head.

"No, I love her! I do! I've never felt this way before! That kiss was intense. It wasn't just any other kiss, it was a serious kiss. It had love in it!"

He spun around again and paced some more.

"No, what are you doing, Tom! You are about to be a great lord, the Dark Lord! A Dark Lord needs no love, a Dark Lord does not believe in love! A Dark Love, no, Lord, a Dark Lord, that's right! A Dark LORD needs no love. How can I be a Dark Lord if I am in love with an innocent fool! No, I'm the fool!"

He plopped on his bed and lay down, wondering what to do, whether he should still use Lily Evans for his plan of the Chamber of Secrets opening or not. But if he was still questioning his plans with her, did that mean he loved her at all?

"Do I love her or am I just fooling myself?"

He no longer knew how he felt. What was he to do about the Chamber of Secrets? What about her extraordinary powers? He knew he needed them sometime soon. He knew he needed to make her use them. And while going through this awful number of varied thoughts and feelings, he fell asleep.

He awoke early the next morning and bumped into Lily in the hallway on his way to the great Hall to eat breakfast.

"Tom," was all she could say.

"Yes?"

"Do you still love me, Tom?" she whispered, making sure noone could hear her.

"What made you think I ever began loving you?"

At first, she went completely stone quiet. "A gut feeling inside me, Tom."

"How do you know that gut feeling is right?"

"I…I just do."

"Lily, even I, myself, don't know whether I love you or not!" he snapped.

"What makes it so hard for you to love me, Tom? What makes it so hard? Tell me!"

"Many, many things," he replied solemnly, staring coldly into her eyes.

Of course that was true. It was hard to love her because he did not know what love was. It was hard to love her because he was planning to use her. It was hard to love her because he was evil and he knew that she couldn't love someone who was evil. It was hard to love her because he never learned to love anyone in his life.

"Can you tell me one thing?"

"I already have."

"But that's no excuse, Tom. Never learning to love is no excuse. That reason should not stop you from loving anyone else in the future."

"There's a lot more to it than that, alright? Now, may you excuse me."  
And with that, Tom Riddle walked away, leaving her behind, leaving her in the dark.

As soon as he got to his seat at the Slytherin table for his breakfast, his friend Romulus Malfoy mentioned Lily.

"Is it true you've got a little thing for that redheaded fool Evans?" Malfoy sneered, as do his descendants.

"You do not call her a fool!" Tom bursted, surprised by his own outburst.

Malfoy jerked back, then realized the truth. "So you do have a thing for her, don't you? After all these months of mocking her, you suddenly feel sorry for the girl?"

"Where did you hear about this?" Tom demanded.

"What?"

"Where did you hear about this?"

"Is that any of your business?"

"Well it very well should be if it has something to do with me."

"Potter. I heard it from James Potter. He says he saw you and that Evans girl kiss!"

"What!" Tom's eyes widened. "How? When?"

"Just yesterday after school. He told me to watch you, Tom."

"Tell your little Potter friend that he should very well mind his own business."

"I have at first but then I just couldn't stop thinking about you and that girl making out. And besides, he is not my friend."

"Well you know what, Romulus? I'm going to have a little talk with that stupid boy!"

Tom stood outside the entrance of the great Hall after breakfast, waiting for James Potter to come out. Stupid James. Him and his geeky glasses. And that gang he hangs around with! No, that gang who follows him!

As soon as James came out of the Hall with his large gang, he immediately saw Tom and knew what this was all about. He told his gang to leave him alone for a while, and so his gang did.

"Alright now, Tom, what do you want?"

"You know exactly what I want."

"Not really. There could be tons of things-"

"I want you to leave me alone and to stop spying on me and Lily Evans!"

James did not say a word at first. He studied Tom for a moment, then spoke. "So you admit it. You do have a thing for Lily Evans."

"What's it to you?"

"I just don't want Lily to be around a guy like you, that's all."

"And why would you care?"

"Because…uh because…"

"You fancy her, don't you?" Tom said coldly.

"That's not what I said."

"I don't care what you said. You fancy her so you get jealous. Jealous of someone like me? Of Tom Riddle?"

"What do you mean someone like you?" James erupted. "Why would I not get jealous? With that perfect handsome look of yours, that Prefect Badge, those super high scores on those wizarding exams, how could I not be jealous? Huh? Tell me!"

"There's more to it than that, James. So what if I do well on the school exams? So what if I'm a Prefect? So what if I've got better looks than you? You just don't understand me, do you?" Tom shook his head with shame. "You foolish embecile. You think you're better than everyone, don't you, Potter? You and that bloody gang of yours, you all think you're so very smooth. And you know what? I know what else you're jealous of. You're jealous of me being with Lily. Isn't that so?"

James eyed Tom with venom, and with much fear.

"Well, that's too bad, isn't it?" And with that, Tom laughed a very cold laughter, and left the room, leaving James standing behind, standing in the dark.

Tom Riddle got to his dormitory room and was surprised to see Lily standing there, waiting for him. She stood by the doorway, without any expression on her face.

"Lily? What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here. Girls are restricted from-"

"I apparated here. Apparently noone could stop me from doing that. Is that a problem?"

Tom was again surpised. "Apparated? You were not supposed to learn that until much later!" Even though Tom had taught it to himself, he was just stunned to see Lily's powers quickly advance. "I taught you well, didn't I?"

"Yes you have, and I've taught myself as well too."

Lily sat on Tom's bed and Tom stood in front of her, watching her every move.

"I've been thinking about you for so long, Tom. And so much. I know it's hard for you to love me but I know you do. I know your heart belongs to me and that mine belongs to you."

"Don't make it harder than it already is, Lily."

"It's not possible for it to be any more complicated!" Lily shouted. She calmed down and looked straight into his eyes, his greyish green eyes that really entranced her. "Kiss me, Tom."

"What?"

"Kiss me, Tom."

Tom bent down and gave her a long kiss. And he didn't stop. There were many more kisses to come. He couldn't control himself. Neither could she. They were both just so much in the mood that they didn't care about anything else that surrounded them.

Their first class of that same day was Potions. They were both late, entering the class at the same time. James, sitting in his own seat, saw that they both came in together, and he burned of jealousy. He did not want to know why they were almost fifteen minutes late in class yet he somehow knew the reason.

"Where have you been, Miss Evans and Mr Riddle?" Mr Warwick asked the both of them as they came in.

"Well, I…I woke up late," said Lily.

"And I, well, I wasn't paying very much attention to the time," answered Tom, which was somewhat true.

"Well, at least you two are friends now, which is sort of nice to see," said Mr Warwick as his two late students walked to their own seats.

That night, Tom found Lily again in his room. They both just couldn't help it.

Three days later, Tom sat on his bed, his head bent low, his eyes glued to the carpeted floor. He was thinking, thinking very hard. He had such mixed feelings for this girl. But if he had such mixed feelings, did it mean he really loved her?  
He remembered that night, three days ago, he was lying right next to her, on that very bed, staring deeply into Lily's entrancing eyes. They reminded him so much the colour of grass, the wild leaves of the jungle. Her hair, so flamboyant and fiery red, perfectly matched her face and her fair smooth skin. Even though he was still planning to use her and her powers, he still couldn't stop thinking about her and about his feelings for her. She had got him Rubeus Hagrid just so Tom could befriend him. He knew Rubeus was going through tough times, so he decided to befriend him to prevent any suspicion about framing him for the opening of the Chamber of Secrets.

Anyways, Tom was seated on his bed, thinking. He was trying to decide whether he should come clean about his Chamber of Secrets plan, but then decided not to. He knew it would scare Lily. Lily was very easy to scare, she was still vulnerable and afraid. But then Tom remembered what she had said. "You were too afraid." Was he as easy to scare as it was easy to scare Lily? They were both afraid, but afraid of different things. Tom was afraid of feelings, feelings a normal human being should feel, while Lily was afraid of evil. His fear was a bigger deal than hers. Afraid of human feelings? Who has ever heard of that? Lily was real, Tom was fake. He realized he could've easily been a scaredy cat just like everyone else.

"No!" he shouted to himself as he stood straight up. "I will soon be Lord Voldemort, and Lord Voldemort may sense fear but he definitely does not have any." He sat back down and continued to think.

At the exact same moment, Lily was lying on the bed on her left side, thinking. She loved him. She knew she did. But then why was she so afraid? She had a gut feeling, a feeling that something terrible would happen between her and Tom. When she first saw him, she thought he was a perfect gentleman, with dark handsome looks and a refined expression on his face. In fact, everyone thought Tom was like that. He had won so many awards at Hogwarts and seemed to devote himself to so many activities at school. But once Lily got to know him, she knew there was something about him. Something not quite right. Inside, he was a dark lonely child, longing for love and company. She knew it and she also knew that it was sooner or later going to bring trouble. But she could remember lying next to him in bed, staring into his green grey eyes, a colour that reminded her of the sea, of the ocean, that seemed to go for miles. A colour that reminded her of the foam and the waves of the waters that would hit the large grey boulders on the sandy shore. His eyes were such interesting colour, and his hair, jet black, which was quite uncommon in the area. His skin, a natural tan, so soft and smooth…She remembered studying his face so well, with his perfectly shaped nose, which was straight and small, and his whole face was just so beautiful like that of a famous carved sculpture.

She wanted to love him so bad, and yes, she did love him, but she wanted love in return. She didn't want a man who couldn't love her back, a man who was so afraid of feelings.

She sat there, and continued to think, wondering why she was so in love with this man.


	2. Fake or Real?

Author's Note: I know there are probably very few of you reading this but I hope you're enjoying it. This is my first time ever on fanfiction, I've just been introducted to it, so it would really help if you gave me constructive reviews. Thank you! They're very encouraging.

The fact that she loved him made her happy.

But she loved him so much it hurt.

Soon enough, she would know that love will turn

Its back on her and that it will deceive her.

Love didn't make her so happy anymore.

It harmed her, it scared her, it scarred her.

The next day, Tom was walking out of Charms class with his group of friends. Malfoy, who was included in that group, went up to Tom as the others friends talked among themselves.

"So tell me, do you really fancy that Evans girl?"

"It's none of your business."

"It's taken me so much courage to come up and ask you so tell me why you fancy her, Tom."

"I said it's none of your business!"

"If you don't tell me now," Malfoy threatened, "I'm going to tell ALL our friends."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh guys, you won't believe it," Malfoy began to announce.

"Ok, shut up! There's nothing for you to know, guys," Tom assured his friends.

Tom and Malfoy stayed behind as their friends walked to the Slytherin common room. Tom led Malfoy to a dark corner of the hallway, and made sure it was empty before he spoke.

"Alright, so tell me about your relationship with that Evans girl," Malfoy said.

"Look, I'm just using her, ok?" Tom said, not knowing whether he was just saying that to get rid of Malfoy or because he really was just using her.

"Using her eh? For what?"

"It's all very complicated and everything, but you must trust me. I've seen Lily practise her magic. It's incredible. She can do great, extraordinary things, things that even WE are not capable of."

"We are talking about the same girl, are we not?"

"Lily Evans."

"But she's so vulnerable and quiet. She never seems to do anything extraordinary."

"Well, trust me. She does. And she had ME to train her, to tutor her. I am a great influence, am I not?" Tom asked, carefully eyeing his friend.

"Of course, you are a great influence. And a great teacher! I don't doubt your powers, Tom, you know I don't."

"Good. Now do you trust me?"

"Yes. I trust you're just using this girl and that there's nothing else going on between you two," Malfoy confirmed.

"Good."

As they walked to their common room, little did they know that James Potter was hiding himself nearby, and had heard every word of their little conversation.

James was so sure that Tom and Lily loved each other, or at least that Tom loved Lily. He knew Lily wouldn't use a human being like that, but for Tom, he wasn't so sure. He was so convinced that his chances for being with Lily were ruined. He didn't feel like taking Lily away from Tom anymore, instead, he felt sorry for her. Sorry that she loved a man who took advantage of her, who planned to take advantage of her powers. Should he tell her about Tom? He wasn't so sure if that was a good idea. If he told her, he knew that he would feel good about himself, but good for crushing Tom, and for making Lily hate Tom. But he would also feel bad. He would see Lily being crushed more than Tom could ever be. He would see Lily's eyes turn into a deep kind of sorrow and depression, and the feeling of being used would be expressed on her face. She would feel so horrible, so useless... And James definitely did not want Lily to feel that way.

"What am I to do?" he asked himself, and sighed. He was sitting on his own bed in his Gryffindor dormitory room.

He badly wanted Lily to fancy him. He had a crush on her since he met her. He pretended to be a big shot in front of her to impress her, but that only made her impression of him worse. He couldn't help it. James was just that sort of boy, the kind who impressed people with his superiority at school. But Lily was different. She was not like the others. She wasn't easy to impress. She thought it was mean for James and his friends to torment younger kids and rejects. She always argued with him about that. They always seemed to fight. But James was so desperate to have her like him, so he had decided to tell her about Tom.

He found her after school that day in the hallway, on her way to the Gryffindor common room. He made sure that she was alone, and quickly grabbed her into a dark deserted corner.

"What the bloody hell are you doing, James?!" Lily shrieked.

"Saving your life," James said.

"What are you talking about?"

"You'll see."

"James, I'm really in a hurry. Can't we do play this silly game some other time?"

"Lily, do you love Tom?"

"What?"

"I said, do you love Tom?"

"Why should I tell you anything?"

"Because," James said, gritting his teeth, "it's important for you to answer my question. Now, do you love him?"

"Why yes."

James sighed. He was afraid she would say that. He knew she was going to say yes, but really hoped she wouldn't. He truly did not want to see her crushed.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I truly am."

"About the way you behave?"

"No, I mean, I'm sorry about you loving Tom."

Lily emitted a sarcastic chuckle. "You're funny, you know that?"

"You don't understand, do you? Are you so blind? Tom Riddle is using you!"

At first, Lily went quiet. Her green eyes flashed. "Are you jealous?"

"What?"

"Are you jealous about me dating Tom?"

"No, I mean it! Tom Riddle is really using you!"

"Are you trying to ruin my happiness, James?"

"I'm serious!"

"And how would you know something like that? I know he would never speak to you."

"Because I heard him talking to Malfoy. Tom claimed that he was using you and your powers."

"My powers?" Lily gave out another sarcastic chuckle. "Who would want my powers? My powers are totally useless! Everybody else's powers are stronger than mine!"

"Tom Riddle doesn't believe that. He thinks you can do great extraordinary things."

"May you excuse me, I have to get to class." Lily turned to leave but abruptly stopped at James' following words.

"I know you went to bed with him, Lily."

She at first went silent. "What? How?"

"I find it a bit obvious, Lily."

"But we used protection and everything, James!"

"That isn't the point."

She looked at him straight in the eyes and coldly told him, "Keep out of it." And she left.

Author's Note: I hope you like it so far and that you're anticipating for the next chapter!


	3. Does he love her?

At first she wouldn't believe it

She was so convinced he loved her

But he did, he truly did

And now she must accept the fact that he's using her

Accept the lie that he's never loved her

And have her heart broken by a Dark Lord

That night, after dinner, Lily apparated in Tom's room while he was sitting at his desk attempting to get his homework done. He looked up at her in surprise.

"Lily, what are you doing here?"

"Why, isn't it obvious? I've come to speak to you, Tom."

"But I have an exam tomorrow and I don't have time to-"

"This is important, Tom. Very important."

Tom noticed the grave look in Lily's eyes, and pulled up a chair for her to sit on. She sat down slowly and gave Tom a solemn look.

"Uh, is everything alright?" he asked, very confused about why she was giving him this look.

"James spoke to me this afternoon-"

"What? I shall teach that awful boy a lesson!"

"No, Tom, it isn't what you think. I thought about what he said and I'm confused now."

"Well, what did he say?" Tom asked with much concern.

"Tom, you must answer this first."

"Sure, anything."

"What do you think of my powers?"

"Excuse me?" He wanted to make sure he heard her correctly.

"What do you think of my magical powers?"

"I think," he said, giving thought to his words, "you've got extraordinary powers and that you will do great things in the future."

Lily closed her eyes in pain. His words hit her like a large stone, like a burn. That was the last answer she was hoping to get from him. She feared that what James told her earlier that day might be true. She opened her eyes.

"How extraordinary do you think my powers are?"

"The best of Gryffindor perhaps. I mean, there are some things you can do that I can't even do."

His words hit her even more, a larger stone and a harsher burn.

"James overheard you speak to Malfoy today, something about using me," Lily said.

Tom's eyes grew wide in shock and in terror. His plan was now ruined, and so was his love life. It was all over for him.

"Can you be more specific?" he asked, trying to contain his fear and his anger, attempting to ask in a calm sort of manner.

"James said you wanted to use my powers and that you think they were great and extraordinary. Apparently, you really do think that." Lily got up. "I loved you, Tom. In fact, I still do. I just can't help it."

Tom stood up in rage. "What James said was wrong! How dare you believe him?!"

"I asked you just now what you thought of my powers. They matched the exact answers that James gave me!"

"It's a complete coincidence!"

"Is that so?"

"Please Lily, you know I love you."

"Actually, I'm not so certain anymore."

"I do! I really really do!" he yelled and pleaded at the same time.

He couldn't contain himself any longer. He was determined to show this woman how much he loved her, even if it meant destroying his plans of using her. He was so desperate to keep her. Only then did he realize he truly loved her. But it was too late.

"How do I know whether to trust you or not, Tom?" she asked him.

Her green eyes didn't seem so green anymore. They no longer looked wild nor exotic. They looked more like the colour of dying grass, dying plants. They just seemed so hollow at the moment.

What would it take to convince her he actually did love her? He took a step forward, gently grabbed her face, and planted a nice long kiss. But something was missing. It was definitely not Tom, he was putting all his emotions and feelings into the kiss. It was Lily. She didn't even kiss back. She still had that plain, somewhat dazed look on her face.

"What about now, Lily?"

"A kiss does not have to mean anything, Tom. You've kissed me so many times before, and you never meant it. What difference does it make now?"

At that moment, Tom's heart seemed to shatter. Her words had split him open. Her words had stabbed him in the heart.

"There is no difference," he said slowly, "because I've always loved you, Lily. You were the one who knew it before I did, remember?"

"I guess I was mistaken. I was just living the dreams of a silly little girl."

If Lily left him forever, it would be over for his plans, over for his relationship with her. He never learned to lose so many things at once. He badly wanted to grab her and never let her go, to hold her in his arms and to make sure she wouldn't pull away.

"I love you, Lily Evans, I love you," he said.

"Don't lie to me, Tom. Just don't."

"I'm not. I'm telling the truth."

"Give me one reason to believe you."

Tom stood there silently for a moment, unable to give her an answer. He froze, wincing at the thought of her stepping out of his room door, stepping out forever, never turning back. He badly wanted to cry except his tears weren't able to come out. He looked down in sorrow.

Lily, who had been watching him desperately trying to think up an answer for her, was unsure of everything at the moment. If he didn't love her, then why did he seem so sad about her leaving him? But if he did love her, then why did he plan to use her? Or did James lie about Tom's plans?

"You know," Lily began, "when James mentioned your plans of using me, I didn't even think twice. I immediately thought he was either lying or mistaken. I was so sure of it. But now, I'm not so sure anymore. I thought about it. Why would James lie to me? He wouldn't, I know he wouldn't. And it all makes sense now. You said our love was complicated because you weren't sure whether you should love me or use me. I guess you've decided to use me."

Tom placed his hands on her shoulders and looked straight in her eyes.

"You're right." He nodded. "I WAS thinking of using you but that was the past. You taught me to love, and you've taught it well. I'm a changed man, Lily, I really am. I really do love you. I no longer want to use you or your powers, Lily. I've realized that using you for my own self is nowhere as great or as important as loving you."

Lily wasn't sure if she could believe him. His words sounded true, he looked quite honest at the moment.

"Please," he begged. "Give me another chance."

His green grey eyes seemed more grey than anything else at the very moment, a very sad melancholy kind of grey, a grey that seemed to stretch forever, a grey that seemed to beg for mercy, to plead for help. She just couldn't bear his eyes.

"So? What do you say?" he asked, desperately hoping she would give him a positive answer.

Author's Note: I hope you're still liking this and that I'm not disappointing you. The upcoming facts are really not going to be accurate, and you'd probably end up going, "What? That doesn't make sense!" Well, then I must apologize for that. And yes, I hope you're anticipating for the rest to come!

Oh yeah, and please review because it really helps and supports me. Thank you!


	4. Forbidden love

Author's Note: I think there's only one person reading this here, so I'm going to write this just for you and me, typewritter 15, and thank you for the reviews!

Last time, he asked her for another chance. He asked, "So, what do you say?"

She looked at him with a strange sort of gaze and gave a heavy sigh.

"Fine," she breathed.

Tom drew breaths of relief and hugged her.

"I can't help it, Tom. I can't help loving you."

"And I can't help loving you either."

"Well, I'm going to head back to my own dorm room, Tom."

She began walking out the door when Tom softly called her name.

"Lily."

She turned around. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She gave him a small nod, then turned back and headed out the door.

Before going to bed that night, Tom lied down and stared at the ceiling, thinking. He always spent his time thinking. He realized that Lily was a much stronger person now. She was no longer shy, gullible, or afraid. She had the guts to go up to him and was willing to break the relationship off. If someone was afraid, it was Tom. Even though he did admit he loved her, he was still terrified at the fact that he admitted it. He could not believe he had done such a thing. He knew Lily was still unsure about her decision to give him another chance. Perhaps she felt pity. Or perhaps she was sorry. Lily was nowhere near evil and intended to be as far away from evil as possible. She wasn't afraid of evil anymore, she just hated it.

The next early morning, Lily was walking in the hallway on her way to the Great Hall when James approached her.

"Have you talked to Tom yet? Or do you hate me now for telling you the truth about him?"

"I don't believe in hate," was her response.

"But have you talked to him? Or have you decided to ignore what I said last night?"

"Both."

"I don't understand."

"I talked to him last night and he admitted that he really was going to use me."

At that moment, James felt excited yet sad at the same time. He was sad for Lily, sad that she really did know the truth, but excited because he thought he would have a chance at love with her.

"So...it's all finished between the both of you?"

"No."

James felt his heart melt a bit.

"I don't understand."

"He's a changed person now, James."

"Changed? But it was just yesterday that he told Romulus Malfoy-"

"I don't think he had much of a choice. He HAD to tell Malfoy something that would please Malfoy. I think it was just pretend."

"You think?"

"I'm positive."

"Positive? You came up with that idea yourself? The idea that he lied to Malfoy?" James asked, incredulous.

"It makes sense, doesn't it? Why would he be so sad about me leaving him if he doesn't love me?"

"Because," James spat, "if you do leave him, he can't use you anymore nor can he use your powers."

"I don't believe it. I believe he really does love me."

And with that, Lily turned away to go eat breakfast at the Great Hall.

Tom awoke in his bedroom that same morning, and decided not to leave his bed straight away. He wanted to think some more. He loved Lily. He really did. Of course he did! But that did not mean he was completely good. He was still evil because he had the desire to kill, the desire to kill James Potter.

"That stupid James Potter," Tom muttered out loud, "how dare he go tell Lily about me? How dare he spy on me? He must be killed...soon..."

Tom was out in the hallway, heading to the Great Hall for some breakfast when he bumped into James, who was also on his way there.

"You!" Tom shouted, pointing his finger rudely at James.

James backed up a certain distance. He really was afraid of Tom.

"Why are you putting your nose where it doesn't belong, Potter?! You eavesdropped on my conversation with Romulus yesterday, how dare you?!"

James froze and went completely white. He couldn't move. He was stiff with fear.

"Let me tell you something, Potter! If you try to meddle with my relationship with Lily again, I will personally hunt you down and torture you so much that you will beg for death!"

Tom's eyes were filled with venom, anger, and violence, and so were his words. He stared at James quite agressively and he looked like he was ready to kill anyone who would cross his path.

"I know you're jealous," Tom continued. "You want to steal Lily away from me but let me tell you, you'll die before you can even reach her."

Tom then left to go eat breakfast, leaving James standing there, still frozen with fear.

Lily was walking to class with two of her Gryffindor friends. On her way to class, she was chatting with them until James walked up.

James, who looked terrified and furious at the same time, spat, "Can you believe your boyfriend, Lily Evans?! He threatened to kill me!"

"For what?"

"For eavesdropping on him when he was talking to Malfoy. For telling you about it!"

"I'm sure he wasn't serious."

"Wasn't serious?! Who are you trying to fool, Lily?! His eyes were gleaming with such...with such...malice!"

"He can be angry sometimes, yes. It happens."

"He told me to stop meddling with your relationship with him, and to stop putting my nose where it doesn't belong!"

"Well he's right, you know," Lily said casually.

James stood there in both disbelief and shock. He could not believe that poor, vulnerable, kind, and gentle Lily was telling him off like that, that she didn't care about what Tom did to him. Has Lily grown into a fierce woman who stood up for herself? Or has she grown into an evil monster, a powerful dark witch? And if she has grown into either of those two things, was it because of Tom's influence?

"That Tom is a bad influence," James muttered to himself, slowly shaking his head in shame. He then walked to class, which was the same as Lily's.

Ever since Lily's relationship with Tom, quite a few Gryffindors have avoided her. Gryffindors and Slytherins absolutely hated each other. Lily and Tom's love were somewhat regarded as Romeo and Juliet's love. Few people understood how and why they were romantically involved and most people found their relationship strange. The Slytherins however, did not exactly avoid Tom. They knew that he would immediately notice their attempt to avoid him and he would confront them about it. Most people in his house idolized him yet feared him. And there was good reason to. He was the smartest of the grade, perhaps even of the school. He was brilliant, handsome, and cunning. Yet they feared him because he was powerful, insane, and menacing. Nobody else besides Slytherins knew that he was this kind of person. Most Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws thought he was just a popular student among the Slytherins, and were convinced that he was intelligent and bright, a very good student. They did not suspect more about him except for the fact that he was a Slytherin. They weren't quite sure why or how he was put there, but that wasn't important. It was just the fact that he was a Slytherin.

The Slytherins did not understood why, of all people, Tom Riddle had to be the one dating some vulnerable nobody. They didn't question him but accepted the fact with secret bitterness and secret hatred.

Author's Note: I hope you're not disappointed. Yes, I know this chapter ended sort of badly but I felt like posting up something as soon as I could. Well actually, the whole chapter was pretty bad so forgive me!


	5. Romeo & Juliet, Sleeping with the Enemy

At first their love was secret

Then their love was rumoured

Lies were spread around

Truths were spread about

And now everyone knows

Romeo and Juliet

It was after school. Tom and Romulus were walking down a large, dark corridor, conversing together.

"I know you don't like it when I keep mentioning the subject of your girlfriend but-"

"That's right. I don't," Tom snarled. "Can't you leave her alone? What has she done to you?"

"I wasn't about to say anything bad about her, Tom. I was just saying that Hawks made fun of her."

"Hawks? As in Marius Hawks?"

"Yes, who else?"

Marius Hawks was a bully who belonged to the Slytherin House. He had a gang of friends, all of whom were two times smaller than he was.

Just then, Tom and Romulus stopped in their tracks to see a gang, no doubt Marius's gang. The gang seemed to crowd around someone or some people, and the members of the gang were taunting the people in the center. Tom and Romulus went up to them to see what was going on. At the sight, Tom felt furious and sad at the same time. In the middle, were Lily, her two best friends, and a coward, all of whom were from Gryffindor.

"What is this?!" Tom thundered.

The gang didn't even realize that Tom was standing right behind them so they jumped and quickly turned around, startled at the fact that Tom, the boy who could do great things, was right there, and that his girlfriend was their victim.  
The four people in the center looked afraid and it was also seen that they had been pushed around for some time now.

"Uh...Tom, we didn't know you were here," one of Marius's friends spluttered, shaking with fear.

Tom withdrew his wand from his pocket, raised it high above his head, and ominously pointed it at the gang. The only person who didn't seem to be afraid of Tom at the moment was none other than Marius himself, the leader. Maybe it was because he was as tall as Tom was yet twice as wide. So evidently, he was bigger.

"What do you think you're doing with my girlfriend?" Tom said slowly, still aiming his wand with much threat.

"So," Marius began, nodding his head in understanding, "it's true. You really are dating that redheaded Lily girl."

"Yes."

"There were rumours about that going on and most people believed it to be true. Now it is confirmed."

"Just answer my question. What do you think you're doing with my girlfriend?"

"My friends and I are pushing her and her own friends around."

"What for?" Tom said with much restrained anger and the urge to kill Marius with a flick of his wand.

"Because," Marius sneered, "they deserve it. We're showing them the consequences of being involved with a Slytherin."

"And let me show you the consequence of bothering my girlfriend! Ava-" Tom was just about to spit out a death spell (Ava Kedavra) until his arm was disrupted by Romulus. There was a quick moment of dead silence. Then Marius broke out in laughter, and not much afterwards, his little friends were laughing too. Lily, her three Gryffindor friends, Tom, and Romulus were watching them in disgust. Marius and his friends left heartily, their cold laughter still ringing in the corridor.

"Why did you do that?" Tom snarled, glaring his menacing eyes at Romulus, who himself had a plain look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Tom, but I can't let you kill Marius like that."

"You're with HIM, aren't you?"

"No."

"Yes! You were the one who told him, weren't you? You were the one who spread rumours about me and Lily! Am I mistaken?"

"Yes, you are, Tom! I never told anyone, I swear!"

Tom pointed his wand at his own friend. Romulus eyed it suspiciously and carefully, and with much fear. He looked at nothing else while drops of sweat were dripping down his face.

"Give me one reason to believe you."

"No really, I didn't. I told you I wouldn't."

"Tom, stop, please," Lily begged.

Tom was so surprised at the sound of her voice. He had forgotten that she was right there, behind him, along with her three friends. He lowered his wand and slowly placed it back in his pocket. Romulus heaved a sigh of relief as Tom turned around to face Lily.

"If he's told someone, then-"

"If he says it wasn't him, then it most probably wasn't." Lily straightened up and avoided her lover's gaze by staring down at the floor. "I think it was me."

His eyebrows raised. "What?"

"I only told Ruth and Imogen, noone else." Ruth and Imogen were her two close friends who stood by her at the moment.

"And how did it happen that everyone knew, and no longer only Ruth and Imogen?"

"I just found out today that they didn't keep this secret like I asked them to." Lily gave a look at her two quiet friends who were too afraid and too shy to speak. "I'm sorry."

Tom looked at her sadly. If anyone should be sorry, it should very well be him. He badly wanted to say to her, "No, I'm the one who's sorry," but he just couldn't bring himself to do it, especially in front of all these people.

"I'll see you later," he said gruffly.

He walked away in silence. Romulus decided to follow him to the common room.

"I believe you owe me an apology," said Romulus with a nasty smirk on his face.

Tom turned to face his friend with much anger. "I don't owe you anything!"

They reached the common room and entered it after stating the password. They settled down on a couch together when a whole bunch of Slytherins went up to them.

"So is it true, Riddle? Are you really dating that redhead?" one asked.

"Of course it's true. Hawks just confirmed it," another said.

"Why, Tom, why? Don't you know that what you're doing is stupid and dangerous?" another cried out.

"Leave him alone," Romulus grunted bravely.

"Hey, we weren't talking to you, Malfoy," some boy with blond hair and chestnut eyes stated quite rudely.

"I don't care who you were talking to. Leave him alone."

The boy shut up and walked away. A close friend of Tom and Romulus, Jeremi Delaware, also went up to them.

"Is it true, Tom? Please don't tell me it's true."

"What difference does it make?" Tom demanded.

Jeremi looked down at the floor in shame, figuring the whole rumour was true. "I thought you knew better, Tom. Don't you know? You're sleeping with the enemy."

At that moment, Tom felt the sudden urge to repeatedly ram Jeremi against the wall. What enemy? Just because Slytherin and Gryffindor were different houses, it did not mean that people of both houses shouldn't befriend each other, that they shouldn't be involved somehow. Ever since he fell in love with Lily, he was against that kind of segregation. Narrowing things down like that avoided possibilities. Possibilities of love, possibilities of friendships, possibilities of business, possibilities of power.

He stood up and stomped off to his dorm room, ignoring everyone's nosy questions and rude comments. Before he could violently slam the door behind him, Romulus quickly slipped in to talk to him. Tom sat on his bed and remained quiet for a moment or to.

Then, he spoke, "Romulus."

"Yes?"

"Can you answer me?"

"Yes?"

"What difference does it make? What difference does it make if I'm having a relationship with Lily, if I love her. Tell me, Romulus."

Romulus was standing by the door. "Uh...I don't know, Tom. I guess there is none, now that I think about it."

Tom nodded in satisfaction and agreement. "Exactly. There is no difference."

Author's Note: I know it doesn't seem like it's going anywhere but it will soon. Trust me.


	6. Death Number One

Author's Note: I'm thanking again for the reviews, and this time includes Jo! Jo, thank you for showering me with compliments even though I don't near deserve them! Same to you too, typewritter 15! Do you seriously think I'm a gifted writer? I mean, I don't know about that but what I do know is that I LOVE to write. I write EVERY SINGLE DAY and I CAN'T LIVE without writing! And there's very very little that happens in this one. Ok, enough talk. Here it is!

If you must hurt someone

You need not use a weapon

Nor do you need to use fists

You need not use a threat

Nor do you need to use words

All you need is a HEART

There is nothing more torturous

Than aching in the heart

That night, Tom had much difficulty falling asleep. The room was dark and he was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling above him. Even though he could not see the ceiling quite properly, the room being dark of course, he knew he was looking at it. And what might he be doing while staring at the ceiling, you might ask? Of course, he was thinking. Tom was always thinking. Thinking led him to great power. Thinking is one of the most important things in the world. At the moment, he was thinking about Lily. He had always been thinking about Lily these days, ever since he fell in love with her. He also did some thinking about the Chamber of Secrets. He was still friends with that big blundering oaf, Hagrid, and Hagrid had no clue. Hagrid had no idea. Tom had come across the Chamber earlier that year. He had heard about it and had done a great amount of research on it. Already knowing about his ability to speak parseltongue, he decided to use that serpentine language to control the Basilisk. He realized he could kill people with it by controlling it to go somewhere. Its great big eyes would murder the people instantly.

"I must kill James," he murmured to himself.

"No, that's not enough," said a little voice in his head. "So he dies. Big deal. How would that satisfy you?"

He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "It doesn't."

"Exactly. Wouldn't you want to torture him first?" the voice said in a way that sounded like it almost smiled a cold nasty smile.

"But how?"

"His heart. Use his heart. That hurts more than anything else."

"Of course! His heart!"

Tom knew that emotional torture was a lot worse than physical torture. He tried to think of how he could do this but he couldn't. He then realized that if he had to kill someone with the Basilisk, it would be to kill someone who was close to James. But who? There were so many people. There was that gang. That gang of around eleven people. He had to choose a particular someone. Someone whom he detested in that gang but he couldn't think of somebody he detested. Someone who got on his nerves, perhaps? Someone who aggravated him, someone who made him angry, someone who irritated him. He could think of a few people but the one his mind was particularly set on was Myrtle. Myrtle was soooo infuriating. She was a young looking, small girl with glasses that carried long black hair that was always tied up. She maintained a short height and was pushy, and very sensitive. Her voice was very high and annoying, and she always carried books around with her. She was also quite nosy and always liked to gossip.

"I hate that girl," Tom muttered in a very aggravated voice.

He never understood why she was so close to James but perhaps it was because they had been friends almost their whole lives and that James' other friends felt so sorry for her.

Tom had decided that night that he will indeed kill Myrtle.

The next day, Tom was eerily quiet. His mind was racked on plans of killing Myrtle. How can he lure her into a trap? Where can he lure her to? During lunch when Romulus, who was the only friend left now, tried to speak to him, Tom was hardly paying attention.

"Are you alright?" Romulus asked, a tone of concern recognized in his voice.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine."

If you were to look at Tom at that moment, you would be able to see how easily deep in thought he was. Anybody could've noticed it.

Tom looked up across his own table to see the table beside, full of Gryffindors. To his surprise, he realized his plan might be able to work after all. Myrtle was having a nasty argument with James at the table about something ridiculous and unimportant. Seeing that it was his only opportunity, Tom stood up without warning, and ambled over to an angry Myrtle and a shouting James. As he stood behind them, they both stopped, and looked up at him in confusion.

"What do you want, Riddle?" James said rather nastily, his brown eyes flashing in anger.

"My my, a shouting James and an angry Myrtle. Isn't this wonderful?"

"Don't tell me you've come here just to mock us because that's pathetic, Riddle, really," James continued.

"I'm interested to see what you girls are fighting about. So what is it? Is it some little argument that comes and goes?"

"It's none of your business!" shouted Myrtle, a malicious look crossing her face.

"I think you both have to work on your temper," Tom said casually, keeping his cool.

"If you really want to," Myrtle began, "it involves your girlfriend."

Tom's brow raised. "Really?" He was definitely intrigued. He shot a quick glance at Lily, who was innocently sitting at the far end of the table. "Well, Lily's business is my business so please, Myrtle, do tell."

"James Potter here," she began, spitting the name out poisonously, "has got a thing for Lily. He tells me to calm down about it. I mean, calm down? How can I calm down?"

"Why wouldn't you be able to calm down?"

"Because I fancy him! He thinks Lily is so much better than I am, that she deserves so much more."

Tom Riddle nodded in understanding. 'Oh Lily is so much better than you are, Myrtle, she does deserve so much more,' Tom thought but never spoke.

"Why do you have to spill these things to a stranger?" James demanded.

"Oh, I'm a stranger, am I now? I thought we were good friends, James," Tom said with a deadly grin.

"Good friends? You threatened to kill me, you nutcase!"

"Oh be quiet, James! And you know what? He is going to kill you! You fancy Lily Evans. What do you think about that, Tom?" Myrtle said with a smile, hoping Tom would get angry.

Tom knew that James had been after her all along. And it had been so obvious.

"I am angry but don't you worry now, girl, I will rip James apart. It's a pity he doesn't fancy you a bit, isn't it, Myrtle? It's a pity that his eyes are totally set on my dear Lily and that that's all his eyes are ever going to set on. It's a pity that you guys have been friends, such good friends, for sooooo long and still...James Potter has no feelings for you. It's too bad he thinks you're pathetic and useless and that if you left him and never came back, it would make no difference."

Myrtle's smile curved into an enormous frown. Her eyes began to redden and it was easy to tell that she was going to cry at any given point.

"That's not true, that's a lie!" James yelled.

"What do you care, Potter? You only fancy Lily, nobody else. In fact, you hate Myrtle. You DESPISE Myrtle. You don't give a damn about her. You never even think to see how pretty she can be, how smart she can be, the powers she obtains. You don't even look at her twice."

Myrtle sobbed quite heavily and Tom saw that he had done his thing. He just had to wait until Myrtle would go to the bathroom and cry herself silly.

"Oh please, go cry somewhere else, you big loser! That's what James always thought when you ended up in tears. Didn't you know that?" Tom said.

Myrtle instantly got up from the table and sprinted off towards the nearest bathroom.

"What was that for, you great big git?!" James erupted.

"You'll see," Tom whispered wickedly. He swept off on his trail to the Chamber of Secrets. On his way to summon the Basilisk.

Author's Note: I'm sorry this chapter was so short! Well actually, all the other chapters except for chapter 1 were pretty short. Well, I apologize. I know this story didn't have very much in it, it really didn't, and it isn't so accurate, because it's really not. I don't even think Myrtle is in Gryffindor or 16 years old when she died. But then again, everything else about this story is not really so accurate. Sorry about that!

Man, I wish there were more people to read my stuff...


	7. Is Tom Dangerous?

Chapter 7

It has been a week since Myrtle's death. Her body was discovered in the girls' bathroom. It was a mysterious death indeed. Even Headmaster Dippet did not know what the cause of her death was. There was buzz around the school. There were paranoid students in the school. There were many who suspected of many others. But nobody ever suspected Tom Riddle to be the murderer of this annoying girl. Nobody but James.

Since Myrtle's death, James has been looking at Tom quite strangely, quite accusingly, but he would never say a word. He was being careful. Tom was aware of his stares and knew that James knew, but he would stare back with a mocking grin.

James wanted so bad to go to Lily, to warn her about Tom, but it was too dangerous. He had to consider the consequences first. He had to consider everything!

'Well, he could be innocent,' James thought. 'But he could also be not, and that would be bad...I'd have to warn Lily...but she would never believe me. And again, I could be completely mistaken. What should I do? And if I did tell Lily, she would tell HIM. And then he would surely kill me. Maybe it's safe to stay quiet...but it can be too late! I could find Lily's body too, lying somewhere around the school one morning! Oh god, what am I going to do?'

Tom was walking to Transfiguration class with Lily, hand in hand, fingers intertwined.

"Oh god, Tom, I think I'm worried."

"About Myrtle's death?"

"Yes."

"What's there to worry about?"

"I'm afraid the person who killed her might end up killing me too!"

'Highly unlikely,' thought Tom.

"Oh?" Tom said. "I think you're just being paranoid, Lily. I don't like it when you're paranoid."

"Oh I know you don't, Tom, but I just can't help it. Do you think I'll be a victim?"

Tom soothingly ran his hand through her scorching red hair, then touched her cheek reassuringly.

"Of course not."

They entered Transfiguration class, which was quite empty save a few people. Albus Dumbledore, who was the Transfiguration teacher, was seated at his desk, running his hand through his long, thick, chestnut beard. You could tell that he was thinking, thinking very hard. He looked up, noticing Tom's entrance, and spoke.

"Mr Riddle, may I have a word with you after class, please?"

"Um, sure. What for, Professor Dumbledore?"

"After class, Mr Riddle."

A few more people entered the classroom. Class has not begun yet.

"So...you don't think this murderer will kill me?" Lily asked.

"Highly unlikely," he told her.

She smiled, knowing that she could trust him in any way, whether he had control over the whole situation or not.

Several more students entered the room. The bell rang for class to start and Lily and Tom went to take their seats.

When class ended and everyone but Tom left, he went straight up to where the professor was standing.

"Have a seat."

Tom sat at the desk right in front of Dumbledore.

"Is something the matter, Tom?" he asked. He decided to no longer use his first name, since class did end.

"Uh no. Why do you ask, Professor?"

"It seems like something is troubling you."

"How so?"

"I can see it in your eyes."

"But I've been so perfectly calm in class and-"

"I KNOW things, Tom." Dumbledore said it in a way that seemed to accuse him of Myrtle's murder. "So nothing is troubling you, you say? Nothing wrong? Nothing to do with Myrtle's murder?"

"Do you think I'm paranoid?"

"Is that what I said?"

"Or do you think I killed her?"

"Please, Tom, I do not wish to accuse any student of mine of murder."

"Then what is it?"

"There is something particular about Myrtle's death that seems to affect you."

Tom did not answer. Dumbledore surveyed him through his half-moon spectacles. Behind those spectables sat marvellous blue eyes that seemed to shine or sparkle at the right moments, whenever he was trying to help another. At that moment, his eyes were neither shining nor sparkling. Instead, they were solemn. They were hungry for an answer, Tom's answer. They were hungry for a confession, Tom's confession.

"Affect me in a bad way, you mean?" Tom asked.

"Yes, of course. Troubling you. Making your life difficult. Making your future difficult."

The student uttered a mocking sarcastic laugh, which seemed to unease Dumbledore, making him quite uncomfortable. There was something about that laugh. Perhaps there was something cold about it.

"Professor, how can one silly little death affect my life in such a grand way?"

"It's more than you think, Tom."

"Is there really a point to this discussion, Professor?"

"I think this discussion has certainly helped. I wanted to know what was troubling you and I wanted to let you know that Myrtle's death can greatly affect you."

"May I go now?"

"Of course."

Tom gave a little nod to his teacher and left the room carrying his books.

It was lunch time. Tom was angry. In fact, he was more than just angry. He was furious. It didn't show very much though. It wasn't as if he were wailing his arms around with agression, or throwing expensive dishes of china at somebody. He seemed perfectly calm, seated at the Slytherin dinner table. If you looked closely enough, you could see that his eyes were burning with roaring flames of furious fire. Besides that, there was little to tell about how he was expressing his anger at this moment. He was motionless and he seemed to be deep in thought. Romulus, who was seated next to him, realized that Tom had not touched any of his food.

"Mate, are you alright?" Romulus asked, a note of deep concern sketched in his voice.

At first, Tom seemed to have taken no notice of him.

"Tom?"

"Oh, what?" His eyes were no longer burning with fire. He was still angry but he was too distracted to still have vile flames in his eyes.

What was he angry about, you might ask? What else? His discussion with Dumbledore. Dumbledore himself. Who did Dumbledore think he was anyway? He thought he knew everything, he thought he was better than everyone! He thought he was so powerful, that he was so wise! How was he able to catch Tom as the murderer? How did he know? What did he mean about Tom's life being affected by Myrtle's death? What was he talking about at all?!

"You seem to be um...distracted," Romulus mentioned.

"Well I am."

"It's not that mudblood's death that's bothering you, is it? You're not one of those paranoid students who are-"

"Why is it always about Myrtle's death?!" Tom bellowed, putting Romulus into such shock that he froze.

A few Slytherins who were seated nearby stared. They obviously thought that Tom had gone crazy.

"Uh sorry," Tom muttered.

They turned back, deciding to forget about Tom's outburst.

"What's wrong with you, Mate?" Romulus asked.

"I'm sorry. Just a bit distracted, that's all. Forget it." And Tom continued to eat, pretending that there was nothing wrong.

That day after school, Lily was sitting in the Gryffindor common room. She was sitting alone on one of the ruby red couches, in the middle of a book. James went to sit beside her. She looked up and rolled her eyes.

"Can't you sit elsewhere?"

"No. I'm here to tell you something, Lily."

"It's not something silly, is it?"

"No no, of course not."

"Then what is it?"

"I know it's going to be tough for you to accept but...Tom is dangerous."

Lily rolled her eyes once again in disgust.

"Oh please..."

"No, I'm serious. I think he's the one who killed Myrtle..."

Lily suddenly laughed out loud.

"What? You think it's funny that Myrtle is dead? She was my friend!" James shouted.

"No, of course I don't think it's funny that she's dead. I think that's dreadful, but the idea of Tom being the one who killed her...now that's just prepostrous!"

"I'm serious, I really do think he's killed Myrtle!"

"You're just saying this because he threatened to kill you, is that right?"

"No, it's not the fact that he's done anything bad to me. It's the fact that he kind of told me...indirectly."

"What are you talking about?!"

"I remember that day, the day Myrtle died. Tom came to the Gryffindor table that lunch time. He made her cry so hard that she had to rush to the bathroom. I think...I think he made her cry so she would go to the bathroom. So she would die in the bathroom. And she did."

Lily glanced at James with much worry. His face was overclouded with despair and bitter sorrow. She knew he couldn't be lying. And if he wasn't lying, then he must be mistaken. He must be.


	8. Framed for Unleashing the Basilisk

Author's Note: I'm sorry but I had really little time to work on it so I didn't write very much, nothing that would feed your curiosity or addiction anyway. I apologize!

If the only person you love

Is the person the most dangerous

Is the person you can least trust

Than who else is out there for you?

But think again

Even if the person you love

Is the person the most dangerous

It does not mean that he does not love you

And that he would not do anything for you

Lily Evans was lying in bed, trying to get herself to fall asleep, but it could not be done. Like so many other teenagers in the world, she was worrying about her problems, her issues, and her situations. She, like many others, thought about these things before she can really fall asleep. It was the same night as the one James told her his suspicions about Tom. Why did she ever listen to that silly James Potter fool? Why did she always end up thinking about what he said? Why did his words always affect her? Whatever he said was both silly and ridiculous yet her mind kept hanging on to what he said. She just couldn't help it. Tom being the one who killed Myrtle? Who ever thought of something as prepostrous as that? Apparently, James Potter did, and apparently, Lily couldn't stop wondering about the possibilies of it being true.  
"Oh Tom," she sighed out loud to herself. "You wouldn't ever hurt anyone like that, would you? Of course not, otherwise I wouldn't be with you. I wouldn't love you. Only cruel monsters do such a thing and I, for one, cannot love a cruel monster."  
She tossed and turned and tried so hard to fall asleep. She would have a Potions exam the next day. She just had to fall asleep.  
"Oh Tom," she repeated to herself. "I wish you can come here and be with me. I wish you can prove to me that you have nothing to do with Myrtle's death."  
She turned to her side.  
"What am I thinking?! It's only Potter who has suspicions about Tom and I know he has something against him. I am such a fool to believe that Potter boy!"  
She became frustrated with both herself and James. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Why couldn't everything just be simple and be solved so easily? But then again, nothing about life was simple and if it WERE simple, then nothing would work. It wouldn't be life. There would just be mindless people with useless lives and nothing to live for.  
And all of a sudden, her eyelids became quite heavy, and she slept deeply.

For the next few days, James has been bothering Lily with his suspicions about Tom. She would brush him away without thinking twice anymore, and she wanted to make sure that noone would bother her boyfriend.  
James finally gave up on her, not just with his suspicions, but also with his friendship and kindness. He realized she couldn't accept the truth, and he decided to move on.

Not much later, there were bad things happening at Hogwarts. Muggle born witches and wizards around the school were being petrified by the Basilisk that Tom had unleashed, and noone but James Potter and Albus Dumbledore knew Tom was the culprit.

"I can't believe there's an actual student who's responsible for all those people who got petrified," Lily mentioned to Tom once when they were walking in the hallway together.

Tom shrugged. "Yes, I know. It's absolutely horrible."

"And I AM muggle born! Do you think I will get attacked?"

"It's highly unlikely."

"Really? You think so?"

Tom gave her a very reassuring smile. "I KNOW so."

Lily smiled out of relief and happiness, knowing that she could trust him in any way, whether he had control over the whole situation or not.

About a week later, everyone knew who commanded the Basilisk. It was none other than Rubeus Hagrid, most people thought. Tom caught him and therefore he was expelled. His wand was snapped in half and he was no longer able to use his powers. Dumbledore had convinced Headmaster Dippet to at least keep Hagrid as the gameskeeper, so the gameskeeper was to train him.

In the hallways, students would go up to Tom and either high five him or congratulate him.

"That was great, Tom! I can't believe you actually solved the mystery and caught the person behind this whole thing!"

It wasn't just Slytherins who congratulated him, but also people from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw.

"Can you believe it? My lover caught the culprit!" Lily would say to the people who congratulated Tom. "My own boyfriend."

Even Marius Hawks came up to him. "I never kmew you were this great, Tom. You actually caught that blundering oaf! It's a pity Dumbledore got him to stay and train as gamekeeper but hey, what you've done is good enough. I've got respect for you now. And I apologize for what I've done to both you and your girlfriend."

It was the last day of school. Everyone had already done their exams. While they were having a celebration in the Great Hall, Lily was in Tom's dormitory room. They were both sitting on his bed and talking.

"So, you're going to stay here all summer?" Lily asked.

"Yes. I mean, it's a hundred times better than the orphanage. God, I hate that orphanage."

She ran her hand through his dark hair, then touched his soft cheek.

"Oh I know you do. If I could, I would bring you back home with me."

"Well, Hogwarts is the only place for me now."

"Can you believe it? We're sixteen. School's already over, then summer will come, then school will come again. Time flies by so fast. Before we know it, we'll graduate from Hogwarts."

Tom nodded. "That's true."

"Where do you think we'll be after graduation? Do you think we'll be...you know...?"

"Together?"

"Yes. Do you think we'll establish a life together?"

"I very much think so. Yes."

"Do you love me, Tom?"

"Now, Lily, how many times have you asked that? Quite often, and everytime I answer with a 'yes'."

"Oh but I need to hear it. Just once before we depart, before we go our separate ways."

"I won't go anywhere. Only YOU will be the one going away."

"I don't have a choice. And I don't think you'd enjoy muggle life very much."

A look of disgust appeared on Tom's face. "No, I don't."

"Exactly. So let me hear it."

He looked at her with a deep, calm expression. Then, he smiled quite pleasantly.

"Lily Evans, I love you with all my heart."

"Tom Riddle, I love you too."

And she gave him a soft kiss before exiting the room, trying hard not to look back. If she did, she would cry.


	9. Poetry and Guilt

Author's Note: I hope that you will still like what I wrote, even though what I wrote here makes a few upsetting changes.

It was the fall. Another year of Hogwarts was about to begin. This time, Tom Riddle and the rest would enter their sixth year. The whole summer, Tom had spent his time doing much work. He, who had become romantic and all, studied hours of poetry a night. He would take out books from the school library, and read poetry outside under the starry blackness of the sky, leaning against a tree. He would even memorize it, sometimes, it naturally came to heart. By the near end of the summer, who had already written some poems of his own. During the day, he would research up on magic, wizards, and spells. He would read about two books a day, making notes, practising spells, brewing up potions, etc. By the near end of the summer, he had grown even more powerful than he ever was. His knowledge had expanded to a great extent. Before, he was already great, but now, he was even more so. He learned more than a hundred spells, more than thirty potions, and learned about the great wizards and witches in magical history.

He was ready to surprise Lily with his romanticism, and couldn't wait for the first day of school just to see her. They had sent letters by owls to each other back and forth. She would tell him about the miserable muggle things that she did, and also the fun and great muggle things that she did. He would tell her about his day, what had happened, and that he was practising spells. He had kept his poetry reading a secret.

It was the first day of the new school year. There was a celebration in the Great Hall and Tom caught Lily's eye there. They didn't have a chance to meet yet. They were each seated at their own table while first graders were being sorted into their houses by the hat.

When the festivities were over, Tom and Lily met in a secluded corner nearby the Great Hall. There were changes between the both of them. At first, their positions felt a bit awkward. But if they loved each other, should there be no awkwardness? Lily was even more beautiful than before. Her eyes were just as green but her cheeks were more crimson, her wavy hair had grown even longer, and she was almost an inch taller than before Tom had last met her. Lily noticed that Tom's hair was a bit longer than before too, and its length produced nice long waves. He was a almost an inch taller too, and he too, his cheeks were more crimson.

"Tom," she managed, but only in a soft whisper.

"Oh Lily, I didn't think you could be any more beautiful than I've last seen you," his voice pronounced richly.

She blushed and looked away for a second. "It's been so long."

"It's only been two and a half months."

"Only? I mean, we haven't seen each other in two and a half months! Every day is long without you, Tom, so two and a half months feels like forever."

He stroked her left cheek with his hand and gazed into her eyes. They seriously entranced him. "Let's go to my room and have a nice talk, shall we?"

"Oh yes, we have much to talk about."

They were both seated on his bed that night conversing about their events in the summer.

"So what else have you done besides shopping and watching movies during the summer?" Tom asked.

"Well, I also went to the beach. There was a boy who asked for my number. I think he thought I was attractive or something."

Tom laughed. "Well, that's no surprise. You truly are beautiful."

Lily blushed once again. He leaned over and kissed her. They continued kissing on the bed but something was not right. She gently pushed him away. He looked at her funny, curious and confused by her action of pushing him away.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. It's not you. It's me."

"How so?"

"I just...I just don't feel like it, alright, Tom?"

"I thought you cared about me."

"Oh I do! I do! But I don't have to make out with you everyday to prove it, do I? I love you, whether we're physically close to each other or not. I will always love you, Tom, and you know it." She reassuringly put her hand over his cheek and looked at him with sad puppy eyes.

"It's just been so long that we've kissed," he sighed.

"I know, but it shouldn't be done too soon. I have to go, Tom. It's getting late."

He didn't even look at her. His eyes were glued to the covers of the bed the whole time. He felt somewhat hurt and insulted even though she had no such intentions. She got up and kissed his forehead before walking out the door. As soon as she was out of sight, he lay back down in bed and decided to immediately sleep for the night, but he couldn't. There were too many thoughts running in his mind. This always happened. Why was Lily so uncomfortable about kissing him? Had she changed over the summer? Did she meet a new guy? Did James finally convince her that Tom was the one who unleashed the Basilisk? Was there a wall between Tom and Lily? Was there awkwardness? Are things changing int heir relationship? There were way too many questions unanswered. They needed to be answered, they must be answered! Tom was so frustrated with all these questions that he shut his eyes hard and tried with much difficulty to fall asleep, but without success. It took about an hour or two for him to completely fall into deep sleep.

The next day, Lily was walking to Potions class when James Potter grabbed her arm and dragged her into a dark corner of the hallway.

"James? Let go of me."

"No," he said.

"Just leave me alone."

He let go of her. Before she could walk away, he asked, "Do you still love him?"

She looked at him with a pained expression on her face. "Yes. What makes you think I would stop loving him?"

"You don't really want me to answer that, now, do you?"

"Be quiet! It's over, James. It was nothing. You know it was nothing."

"That's not what you said."

"I didn't say anything! But we both know that it meant absolutely nothing."

And she walked off to class, with him trailing behind her.

After school that day, Tom led Lily outside to the tree where they first kissed and where their love bloomed. He sat down leaning against a tree, and she sat down in front of him, with his arms wrapped around her waist.

"This place is so special, you know that?" he said to her, a pleasant smile appearing on his face.

"Is it because it's where we first kissed?"

"Yes, and it's also because it was where I sat, gazing the stars, enveloped by the darkness of the sky." Really, it was also where he practised his poetry.

"And what about those dazzling stars, Tom?"

"Well, they remind me every bit of you. They looked so small from here, so small and precious, like you, yet they shine with so much brightness and strength, just like you. In reality, they really are fierce and grand, and you, my dear, are fierce and grand."

Lily giggled happily. She absolutely loved the expressive compliments he was showering upon her.  
"Oh my god, you are so romantic," she breathed.

"Would I be even more romantic if I were to have studied poetry the whole summer just so I could tell them to you with all my heart and meaning?" he asked.

She turned her head, and was surprised. Her mouth was wide open, and her eyebrowes were raised. "You mean...you mean to tell me that you've studied poetry just for me?"

He kissed her cheek and put his chin on her shoulder. "Perhaps."

She immediately stood up to face him. "Are you...serious?"

Then, he began reciting a beautiful poem, about how lovely she was. She was hit with so much shock and happiness that she stood still and frozen.

"Do you love it?" he asked.

She sat on her knees facing him, and hugged him. "I love it almost as much as I love you."

And he smiled, with pride, and at the fact that he could make the love of his life happy.

Little did he know that she was feeling a bit guilty when she hugged him. Little did he know that she, Lily Evans, the woman who truly did love him, cheated on him.

FLASHBACK  
  
It was in the middle of July, blazing hot and humid, people walking around in shorts, skirts, and t-shirts. It was about seven pm, and Lily was sitting on a park bench, in a grand beautiful park that held all types of trees and a nice pond with ducks and ducklings. She was sad. She had just ran out of her house after having a large fight with both her parents. They found out, because of her nasty sister Petunia, that she had a wizard boyfriend whom she was deeply in love with. She had also brought home gradually decreasing grades from Hogwarts, which caused her parents to think that Tom Riddle was the reason for this mess.

"You are too young to understand love," her mother told her quite firmly.

"You are too young to get hurt this way, Lily. The boy is going to leave you, and your heart will break. Not only did he affect your grades, but he's also a wizard! Sure, I have nothing against wizards and witches, but it will do you good to stay with a muggle. And that would have to be when you come of age, not at the silly age of sixteen," her father stated.

She cried out in protests, and she broke into sobs. Petunia had watched this fight with so much pleasure as her lips formed a nasty grin.

"You will no longer see this boy," her mother said.

"How will you be able to stop me?" Lily demanded.

"If your grades will continue to descend, and will not improve, we can do things very easily. We WILL, and mark my words, young lady, we will send you to another school, no matter how great a school Hogwarts is."

At this, Lily's eyes widened. "No!" she shrieked. "No! You can't! You can't!"

"Well then, improve."

At that, Lily ran out as far as her legs were able to carry her, and she brought herself to the park. She was seated on the bench, tears streaming down her soft ivory toned cheek, wiping them away with a tissue paper. She could not bear think of losing contact with Tom. She wouldn't allow that to happen. No way. But in her letters to him, she never mentioned her parents finding out, or her parents' threat.

As she was sitting and sobbing silently, surrounded by both young and old couples promenading the park, she saw James walking alone as well.

"Oh god," she prayed silently, "please don't let him see me."

She sat still, attempting not to stir, attempting not to catch anyone's attention, especially not his. But it was too bad. He turned his head and saw Lily, and decided to walk over to her. If she got up and ran away, it would have been awfully rude, and if she turned around, it would have been obvious that she was trying to escape him.

"Lily? Lily Evans?"

He was standing in front of her now. He noticed her red eyes and her tears.

"Lily? What's wrong?"

"Um, nothing," she whispered.

He sat next to her and tried to look into her eyes but she avoided his gaze. Her eyes were set to the ground.

"C'mon Lily, look at me. What's wrong?"

"Nothing!"

"I know you're lying, Lily. There's no use in doing that so please, tell me the reason."

She looked up at him.

"It's got something to do with Tom Riddle, doesn't it?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Did he...dump you?"

She was taken aback. "Of course not! He would never do such thing!"

"Then what is it?"

"It's my parents. They found out. They're threatening me about it."

"Oh god, Lily, I'm so sorry."

"Sorry?! Ha! You'd be glad if I stopped seeing him!"

"Perhaps."

"Oh, you repugnant pig!"

"It's not that, Lily. I fancy you. I always have. I can't help it, you know that?"

"Why do you have to fancy me?"

"Because," he explained, "you're such a great person. You're beautiful, you're kind, you're helpful, you're good..."

What he said was partly true. Lily used to be kind and helpful and good but not so much anymore. She was too influenced by Tom. She would do anything, even if it meant hurting other people, just to please her Tom, just to be with him, just so she can love him. And only then did she realize she was no longer good, that she had changed ever since meeting Tom.

"No," she said, shaking her head, "no, I'm not. I'm not good at all."

"What are you talking about? Of course you are, you're just a little changed because of Tom."

"Don't put the blame on him, James, alright?! It's because of me. It's because I chose to change."

"And you've made this decision because of him."

"It's still not his fault. Leave him out of it."

"Fine, I will. But can you not see? You were the one who changed me. I used to think I was so cool, that I had so many friends, that what I was doing was right, as long as I was able to impress people. But it's because of you that I now know what I've been doing was wrong. What I've done to Severus Snape was a mistake. I shouldn't have tormented him in any way. What I've done to Ferdinand Buckler was also a mistake, as well as his best friends...It's because of you that I've realized what a bad person I have been my whole time at Hogwarts. You changed me, you know that?"

"I couldn't have. I'm not capable of doing such-"

He shook her shoulders. "You are, Lily, you are capable of it!"

She tried to look away but couldn't. She stared into his large brown eyes, hidden behind those geeky glasses... But there was something about his eyes, that seemed to beg her, that seemed to convince her that she was the one who changed James after all. There was a kind of truth in there, a kind of innocence, a kind of hope, hope for good.

Their faces moved closely together, their lips touched, and they embraced. But she realized that what she was doing was completely wrong in so many ways, and she instantly pushed him away and stood up, shocked at what she had done.

"No, that wasn't supposed to happen!" she yelled.

She broke into sobs again and ran off back home, which seemed to be safer, more welcoming, and more comfortable than the park that she had earlier escaped to.

END FLASHBACK


	10. The changes in James and Lily

Author's Note: I realized that I'm writing a lot more than I planned to. I intended to make this story quick and short but it didn't turn out that way. It sort of flowed into another direction, a longer and more eventful one. I hope you don't mind. Well, here is today's chapter.

It has been two weeks since school had commenced. Lily was feeling rather regretful about her kiss with James for so many reasons. During that one week, James acted so strangely, so differently. He never came to eat at the Great Hall anymore, he rarely spoke, and he stopped hanging out with his gang and decided to remain alone. Lily was so worried about him. She was wondering whether his change in behaviour had something to do with their kiss, whether it had something to do with her hurtful words, "We both know that it meant absolutely nothing."  
She was so convinced it was all her fault that she, herself, had started to act a bit strange. There was so much pain inside her that she hardly ate and instead played with her food, that she did little homework, and that her mind was so occupied with these troublesome issues. She so badly wanted to talk to James, to apologize, to explode, and to burst out all her feelings in front of him, all her regrets and thoughts, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Tom grew to be aware of the difference in her and obviously became concerned. So one night, a week since school had begun, he sat her down on his bed and asked her what was wrong.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I know there is something, Lily. Just tell me. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing. Nothing."

"Don't lie to me."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"And why not?"

"I don't feel very comfortable talking about it."

"But you can tell me, can't you? I am your boyfriend, aren't I? You do love me, don't you?" Tom asked. His words slightly stung her.

"Of course I love you but that won't change anything. I'd still feel uncomfortable. I just don't want to, alright Tom? You would respect my wishes, wouldn't you?"

He sighed. "Yes, I would. I'm just greatly concerned, that's all."

"I'm sorry, Tom."

"Lily, it's not just that. You've been acting sort of strange ever since I met you for the first time after summer."

"How?"

"Our relationship isn't as passionate as it used to be, you look more tense than usual, and these past few days seemed to have really gotten the best of you. Tell me, did something happen during the summer that I don't know about? Something so great that it would affect you in such ways?"

His look was serious and darkly fervent. His eyes were boring into hers. She couldn't look away. She'd look too guilty, too much of a culprit, too much of someone who had done something horribly wrong.

"Good night, Tom," was all she said as she stood up to leave.

It pained him to see her so closed. It hurt him to see her so secretive and so uncomfortable. Was he not able to help her? Could she not tell him what was wrong? What was there to be afraid of? They both loved each other, so what would the harm of telling do? Instead of forcing her to stay and give an answer, he stayed put, hurt. He gave her no response and allowed her to leave his room.

On her walk to the Gryffindor common room, she decided to have a discussion with James. Once she entered, she saw no sign of James. She asked his friend Sirius where he had gone.

"James? Oh, he's in his bedroom. I know it's early, but he decided to go to bed anyway," Sirius answered.

"Thank you, Sirius."

She apparated in James' room. She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and frightened him. He was lying down on his bed when she had appeared, but then he was sitting straight up, shocked and afraid.

"Lily? How'd you do that?"

"I apparated here."

"But...but we didn't learn any of that yet!" he cried out.

"Oh I know, but I have. I taught it myself."

"Wow," he breathed, incredulous. Then, he remembered he was still angry at her, and decided to act that way. "What are you doing here?"

"I want to speak to you, James."

"What would you do be doing here speaking to me? Whatever I say will mean nothing."

"That's not true!" she yelled in protest. "Whatever you say is important, but it is that kiss that means nothing."

"Well, I thought it meant something."

"How?" She felt like crumbling. She bent down in front of him beside his bed. "How can you say such a thing? I don't fancy you in any way, James. I love Tom, and he is the only one I'll ever love."

James looked down, able to keep his gaze on Lily. He was hurt. He knew she HAD to feel something. ANYTHING.

"Not one thing? Nothing?"

"How many times do I have to say this, James?"

"Do you want to know what I felt?"

"No."

He continued, ignoring her negative response. "It was the first time that I've ever felt this way. I mean, I've kissed girls before, but that time...there was something special about it. I felt the summer sensation growing around me, Lily. It was like...flowers and bees and the sun all at the same time. It felt satisfying, no, in fact, more than satisfying. I can't explain it."

She looked away, in shame and in guilt. "I felt nothing of the kind. It felt forced and rushed. Plain and bland."

'She must be lying,' James thought as he finally concentrated his gaze on her. 'She must be.'

"Is this what this whole thing is about?" Lily questioned.

"What whole thing?"

"You acting strange and all. You stopped eating in the Great Hall, you stopped hanging out with your friends. You look tired, worn out, sad."

"I have many reasons for all those things."

"Like what?"

"Well, I stopped hanging out with my friends because I realize they're a terribly bad influence on me. I'm still close with them but...I just can't do those things anymore."

"Those things?"

"Bullying, harrassing, teasing..."

"You're ashamed of yourself, aren't you?"

"Yes. You don't have to rub it in, do you? I mean, I'm already aware of how I silly and mean I used to be. I don't think I can be any more ashamed."

"There's always room for shame."

James uttered a small, mocking laugh. "Who taught you that? Your so-called lover?"

She was about to insult him, wring his neck, anything, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She decided to be mature about the whole situation.

"He taught me a great deal of things, as did I to him."

"I bet he taught you a lot of wrong, mistaken things too."

"What would you know, James Potter?! Ugh! You never grow up, do you? I thought you have finally come to your senses and have decided to be mature about everything, but no. You haven't changed. You haven't changed one bit, Potter!"

"Hey!" he shouted defensively, sitting straight up as to let her hear what he wanted to shout at her. "I HAVE changed! I already told you, at the park and everything. I wasn't being immature about anything, I'm just convinced that he really did teach you the wrong things. And so that makes me immature? That I have voiced out my negative opinions about your boyfriend?!"

She stepped back, dumbfounded, offended, insulted. Whatever it was, it had come as a complete shock. She had definitely not expected that to come from him.

"I feel guilty and regretful, ok?! The way you've changed, your behaviour and attitude, it scared me! It frightened me so much that I, too, have changed myself. I couldn't bring myself to eat, to work, to think about school things! I was so worried and upset! That's why I've come here, James. I want to tell you everything, and I want to know everything from you."

"So...you care?"

"As a friend. Nothing more. That kiss was wrong, completely, on so many levels. It was wrong because I don't fancy you. It was wrong because I was leading you the wrong way. I was fooling you even though I had no intention to. It was wrong because I love Tom and I have convinced myself that I would not do anything to hurt him, that I would never do anything that could harm him."

James looked down. His face seemed to be drowning in sorrow and disappointment, in shame and in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Lily," he choked up. "I don't think I can ever bother you again. I will NEVER bother you again."

She looked at him despairingly, then quickly left the room without saying a word.

Author's Note: This is going to go a long way. Things aren't just going to end here. I think there's going to be lots more to come. I intend to write when they are in the middle of their seventh year. Hope noone minds that!


	11. Hidden in his Shadows

Author's Note: I'm sorry it took me forever. I think this chapter is sort of useless. Well, most of it anyway. I just added it in to show more details and possibilities and to enhance the amount of events and such. I also attempted to show another side of Tom, not necessarily the calm and reflective one, or the angry and short tempered one, but more like the calm, mysterious, angry, sly, and unpredictable type. Ok, what the hell am I talking about?!

He once fancied her

They once shared a kiss

He said it was something

She said it was meaningless

She told him to forget her

And he truly did

And now she can't stand the fact

That he forgets her and hides her in his shadows

His words still resonated in her head as she made her way back to her dorm room and went to bed.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I don't think I can ever bother you again. I will NEVER bother you again."

She sighed. Would she ever be able to forget him? Would she forget about him, not about the kiss, but about him as a friend? As a person? In reference to what he felt for her and to what he told her? She sighed once again. She was sure that he would learn to forget her, to ignore her, to completely hide her in his shadows. She could not help but cry. So that night, she cried herself to sleep.

For the next month, James refused to say a single word to Lily. Tom, who still had no idea of what went on between them, was surprised to see James ignore her. James would look at her quite oddly once in a while but would result in not talking to her at all.

Two months into school time, nothing interesting has happened. James has completely ignored Lily, which hurt her more than she thought it would. Her relationship with Tom seemed to be a bit more unsettling than before the summer began. She was less passionate than she was before, and much quieter. When he spoke to her, she would go deep into thought about other things, which he noticed. He surely did not want to end his relationship with her. There was no reason to. He still loved her nonetheless, and hopefully, she loved him as well.

It was Halloween. The moon outside was full and beautiful. It shone very brightly and cast dancing moonlight through the wisps of clouds. It was also almost midnight. Tom led Lily outside to the tree where they first kissed, where he had recited poems to her, and such. It was also cold outdoors. The couple had been shivering on their way to the tree.

"Oh Tom, the moon is so beautiful," Lily commented, who was really dazzled by the moon and the night sky.

"I know," he replied with a smile. "It's almost as beautiful as you are."

Every time he showered her with compliments, she just felt like breaking into pieces. Gusts of guilt and regret arrived.

And then he began reciting poetry, one about the stars and the planets and the dark skies. In fact, he wrote it himself. He's been prepared since the end of the summer. His poetry reciting just melted her heart. He leaned her against a tree and started kissing her...until they heard a loud rustle in a bush nearby.

"What was that?" she gasped.

"It could be anything," he said quite solemnly, his eyes focused on the bush in such a dark and serious manner. "There are many crazy things out on Halloween nights. I'll

keep you safe."

He slowly approached the bush with her behind him. Nothing came out. They both looked behind the bush and Lily gasped, clutched her chest, and fell back. Out in front of them was a fresh dead body, one of a student from Hogwarts. Tom had little reaction. He stood still, his eyes planted on the corpse.

"Oh my god!" Lily screamed.

Tom was stiff and silent.

"Tom, we must do something! Anything to help him!"

"No," he managed to choke up. "It's too late now."

"No, Tom, maybe it's not-"

Tom bent down and felt for the victim's pulse...but there was none.

"No. It's too late."

"What are we going to do? Do we tell Professor Dippet?"

"No. Then Professor Dumbledore will hear about it."

"What's wrong with that?" Lily inquired.

"Professor Dumbledore always knows too much."

"Then maybe he can help."

"Help? How?"

"Find out who killed this poor man."

Tom looked into the victim's eyes. He recognized him as Harold Berrington from Hufflepuff, in the same year as his. Tom stood up and stepped back.

"No, Lily. We tell noone."

Lily did not answer back. Her eyes were heavily protruded with both sorrow and grief.

"Lily? Did you hear me? We tell noone, ok?"

Lily nodded faintly. She could no longer speak. Tom looked down at the victim. There was a deep bleeding gash in his neck, a couple of bruises on his face and his arms, and some dirt on his body.

'Disgusting', Tom thought.

It was the first time he has ever really taken a good look at his victim, his own victim.

The next day was a Saturday. Lily was very eerily quiet the whole day. She stayed locked up in her dorm room, refusing to even go meet her own boyfriend. She was too traumatized to do or to think of anything else. She stayed in bed until noon time. One of her best friends brought food up for her, which Lily ate very little of. Her best friend was confused at the reason of Lily's state but she dared not ask. She was too afraid of the answer, and Lily was too afraid to say the words out loud. Tom was not aware of how bad her condition was.

That Saturday night, when it was past curfew, Tom managed to sneak out of Hogwarts unnoticed. He was standing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest as he waited.

He heard a noise, and one by one, twelve hooded people in dark cloaks stepped out, circling him.

"Stop it and let down your hoods," he spat.

The dark cloaked people immediately stopped and obeyed. They were twelve Slytherin students, all but one, all but poor Peter Pettigrew. Amongst them were mainly guys apart from two girls.

"That Harold Berrington boy, that was your doing, wasn't it?" Tom demanded.

"More like your doing, my Lord," a boy with bleached blonde hair and dark blue eyes said.

"Don't tell me what is my doing and what is yours!" Tom snapped venomously, which caused his followers to step back in fear.

"I'm...I'm sorry, my Lord," the boy stuttered.

Tom calmed himself. "Disgusting. Couldn't you have thrown his body in a river or

something? Anything to hide it away?"

"We didn't know, Sir," another boy murmured.

"Whatever. I've already vanished it with some spell you useless fools don't know. Now, are there any other people that you've killed yesterday night?"

"We killed that Ravenclaw couple. Henrietta and Marcus," a purple haired girl declared proudly.

"In our grade? And what have you done to their bodies?"

"Left them to rot!" a third boy sniggered.

"You fools!" Tom thundered, anger shimmering in his eyes. "Bring me their bodies, now."

"But...they're deep in the woods. We've hid them there!" the third boy protested.

"Then bring me their bodies at tomorrow's meeting. Now, are those the only people that you've killed last night?"

"Yes Sir," Peter Pettigrew replied.

What was Peter doing there, you might ask? He had been a friend of James' since the first year at Hogwarts but he was so vulnerable that he was scared into joining Voldemort's group. Tom figured that it would be the best way to get any kind of secret information from James and his friends.

"Do you know why I've asked you to kill all these innocent people?" Tom asked surprisingly calmly.

"I remember!" the boy with the bleached hair cried out. "You didn't want anyone to bother your romantic night with your girlfriend."

"That's correct. But somehow it still got disrupted, all thanks to you worthless morons! You killed Harold Berrington right near where my girlfriend and I were standing. We found his body while I was spending time with her! And it's all because you fools couldn't kill Berrington somewhere else. I am very disappointed in you."

"We're sorry," the second girl of the group apologized. "We didn't mean to."

"Why are you with that silly redheaded girl anyway?" the first girl, with the purple hair, dangerously complained.

Tom swiftly turned around and menacingly approached her. His eyes were filled with venom and fury. The other followers dared not speak.

"Have you just called my love a silly redheaded girl?"

"Yes. She doesn't deserve you, you know that?! You deserve to be with someone so much better."

"Someone like you, perhaps?" Tom asked in a calm and playful manner.

"We deserve each other, Tom," the girl said in an evil but seductive smirk.

She brought her hand to his cheek and stroked it gently. The others feared for her life but have decided to remain silent anyway. Tom put his hand under her chin and lifted it quickly, squeezing it as he angrily spoke to her.

"I'm sorry but you will never be with me. You are too much of a fool, too vulnerable. Too gullible. But you are, I must admit, stronger than all the others."

With his other hand, he gently waved to the other followers, who were mildly insulted.

"You had the courage to speak up to me like that. Usually, I like that but not this time,

Violet. The bitter words you have spoken were against the love of my life, and nobody, not even you, can insult her."

He gently wrapped his cold hand around her neck, much to her pleasure.

"I'm sorry, Violet, but you're not my type. You're too weak. And if you ever speak against my love again..." He breathed soothingly into her ear. "I'll have to rip you apart and make sure you leave an awful, bloody corpse."

Then, he stepped back and roughly pushed her, which caused her to fall. The others stepped back in shock.

"What?" he laughed mockingly. "Are you afraid of me?"

His followers vigorously shook their heads as to show no fear whatsoever.

"Next time," he continued, "I expect you to do the job well."

And not so far away, James, as always, was surreptitiously watching and listening behind a bush.

Author's Note: Yes, I know. James is always either eavesdropping or spying or whatever. I'm sure it's annoying but I just can't help it. It's somewhat necessary.


	12. Remembering the First Kiss

Author's Note: Uh, I don't know if you reader(s) know, but I made a small mistake in the last chapter. I tried to edit it but something's wrong and it won't let me. The mistake was that I said Peter Pettigrew wasn't in Hogwarts, but no, what I meant was that Peter Pettigrew wasn't in Slytherin, and that he was in Gryffindor. That's all. Thanks.

Previously: Last Chapter, James was spying on Tom Riddle's meeting with his followers. What is James going to do now?

James was stunned. He had trouble believing that Tom Riddle was just in front of him, holding a meeting with his followers, his evil followers. James had to do something about it as fast as he could, but noone would believe him. People would say that he was crazy, or that he had just imagined the whole thing. The person he had to warn the most was Lily, yet she was the person who would believe him the least. He was so convinced that Tom was responsible for all the petrifications of muggleborns the year before, but he was so discouraged about it that he had completely forgotten that Tom was the culprit. He now remembered, and realized that Tom was evil, just plain evil. But if Lily was in danger, then why was she still safe? Why was she not yet hurt or harmed? Tom Riddle had all the chances to pin her, yet he did not do it. Perhaps he really truly did love this girl. James looked down in sorrow. He remembered his last words to Lily.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I don't think I can ever bother you again. I will NEVER bother you again."

Ugh! Why did he have to be so shallow? So foolish? She wanted it. She asked for it. It wasn't his fault, it wasn't his fault at all! She wanted him to leave her alone, to never bother her again. But he remembered those few moments he had seen her look at him in such an uncomfortable way, a look that pleaded him to say something to her, anything.

He decided to wait until Tom and his evil group would go back inside before coming out of the bush. Tom was absolutely dangerous. If James would be caught, he would be killed in a second! Yet he decided to go back the next night, since Tom had planned to.

The next day, which was a Sunday, Lily recovered a bit, but not completely. She was still pretty shaken, but she was strong enough to at least get out of bed and her room. When she slowly walked out for breakfast, she seemed a little more cautious then usual. She saw Tom, whom she had not even seen the day before. He brought her to a dark secluded corner.

"Lily, have you told anyone?"

"About what?"

"About what happened Friday night. About Harold."

"No, Tom. I haven't."

"Good." He looked at his girlfriend concernedly, seeing that she was still disturbed.

"There is word that you stayed in bed the whole of yesterday. Is it true?"

"Yes."

"And why is that?"

"Is it not obvious, Tom? That body..." Her gaze turned hollow, as if she were looking at the body in her mind right at this moment. "Who would've done such a thing, Tom? Who could be so cold to do such a horrible thing like murdering?"

He put his arm around her and gave her a small squeeze. It pained him to see her so terrified, especially when it was his fault.

"They think he ran away," she continued, "and left behind a note saying that he was depressed and couldn't stand Hogwarts anymore. But he didn't take any of his belongings with him. I seriously think we should tell them, Tom. I think it's important."

"No," Tom insisted. "We cannot do that. Do you want them to find out the truth? That poor Harold Berrington was killed when he was trying to run away? I don't want them to know that he's actually dead. It would sadden many people. I think it would be best if they just thought he ran away."

"I guess you're right. But what if they find his body?"

"I assure you, they won't. But if they ever do, then they have no choice but to mourn only then."

There was a small silence.

"Tom, I don't think he was the only one. You know Henrietta Jackson and her boyfriend Marcus from Ravenclaw? They're missing too apparently."

"Oh really? Are they still alive?"

"Noone knows. The staff thinks they wandered off too far into the Forbidden Forest on Halloween night. Oh, I'm so afraid." She put her head to Tom's chest. "I think there's a murderer loose out there and he can get any one of us."

He stroked her hair comfortingly. "I will protect you, Lily. You've never been hurt before. What makes you think you're going to hurt now?"

"There's a first time for everything."

"Trust me. You will not get hurt. I promise you."

"Oh you are my guardian angel, Tom."

He was able to protect her every time, but that was only because he was always the murderer, the bad guy. It was a good thing that she has not yet realized that.

He gave a soft chuckle and led her out of the corner to go to the Great Hall.

"Are you feeling better today?"

His girlfriend nodded silently. "I want to eat with you."

"But you can't. You sit with the Gryffindors and I sit with the Slytherins."

"But I want to sit with you. I don't care what anyone else says."

"Lily, I've always wanted to sit with you, but you know that's not going to happen."

"Please Tom," she begged as she grabbed his arm.

"Why is today different? Is it because you need me to protect you?"

"It's because we haven't talked in so long."

"What are you talking about? We talked just Friday. In fact, we did more than that. I said a poem and kissed you. That beats any talking."

"I know," she sighed. "But it was fake. It was all fake."

She broke into sobs as he led her into another dark corner.

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you love me? Do you really love me?"

"Why of course," he laughed at her silliness.

The expression on her face turned serious. "No, you must answer. Do you love me?"

Tom looked at her. He was unsure. He knew that for certain he used to love her, but why couldn't he know about now? Did he really love her? No, the question was more like, did she love him? It didn't seem so. He showered her with poems, romantic sayings, gifts, etc.

But she never seemed to enjoy any of it. Every time he did so, she looked so uncomfortable. He tried so hard. He would do anything to make her stay. Anything.

"Tom, are you not going to answer me?"

"No, I'm not going to answer you, Lily. Instead, I'm going to ask you. Do you love me?"

She looked at him with those sad green eyes. When she was happy or passionate, they were wild and vivid, but at the moment they were dull and depressing. He was afraid the answer would be a no. She then looked away, tears slipping away from her eyes once again. She too was afraid the answer would be a no. Why could she not love him? Why could it not be as easy for her to love him than it would be as easy for him to love her?

"Is that a no, Lily?"

"I refuse to answer," she said.

Tom realized the sad truth. He held on as tight as he could to her. At first he tried to find poems and recite them to her because he thought she'd thoroughly enjoy it. But by late September, he only did so to hold on to her, to make sure that she would hold on as well.

"Is this it then?" Tom asked, his voice turning cold.

"I don't want it to be."

"But if we carry on...we'll our relationship be different?"

"I just hope it will be better."

"So do I. Lily, I don't understand. Why has our relationship changed?"

"Perhaps it's because of the summer?"

"The summer? How can that be? I was so happy during the summer. I was so prepared. I couldn't wait for you to come back. Never did I once stop thinking about you. Never did I once thought I was losing this bond with you. Never," he whispered. "But that isn't important is it? It's not because of me. It's because of you. Tell me, Lily Evans, what has happened over the summer?"

She looked down shamefully and winced. She could not believe that he has just used her full name like that, in such a cold manner.

"Nothing, Tom. Nothing. I dreamed of you every night."

"Then why have we become so distant?"

"I don't know," she lied. "I don't understand either."

It was obviously because of that kiss she shared with James. But if she told Tom, he would be given a motive to kill James.

"So what do we do?" she asked, hoping that his answer would not be a negative one.

"Let me show you something," he said.

Instead of taking her hand, as he would have done so, he didn't even touch her. He motioned her to follow him as he led her to the fresh windy outdoors. He stopped at the tree, where they did many things together. As she followed him, she could still feel the emotional distance and the cold between them.

"What are we doing here, Tom? You want to revive our memories?"

"Perhaps." He turned to face her and took her hands into his. "Do you remember that we stood here? Right in these positions?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember what you said to me?"

"I said many things to you."

"Say something you remember from the time we first kissed."

"I...I told you I dreamt of you everyday."

"Continue."

"Uh...I expected you to love me back."

"That's right. And you got angry at me because I asked you to complete a task for me. Do you remember what happened next?"

"I...I cried. And you held me tight in your arms...you were trying to calm me down. Then...I kissed you."

Tom nodded in agreement. It was the first time they have ever actually talked about the time they first kissed. Surprisingly, they've never talked about it before.

"I remember," she continued, "I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to show you that we really did have feelings for each other. And I was hoping that that kiss would convince you."

"And it did. It showed me a lot, a lot of things I didn't even know of."

"And you were so convinced that you couldn't love...for many reasons. You wouldn't believe it."

"And you said that we were fools to not have realized our love before, to not have realized that it was much more than lust."

Lily took her hands away and looked down at the ground painfully. She felt like crying again, except she didn't know why. Tom tried to look into her eyes but she kept looking away.

"When we kissed...what did you feel, Lily? Tell me."

She shook her head, trying to think of it and to forget it at the same time.

"I...I felt something. Something strong. Something beautiful. Something powerful."

"Do you understand why I've brought you here, Lily?"

"No, Tom. I don't."

He took her right hand as she refused to look at him. He held her hand tight.

"You had quite an effect on me, Lily. You taught me to love. You taught me to feel. When I kissed you, I felt something as well. I felt something so sensational. That moment we kissed...it was the happiest moment in my entire life, and I've experienced a great deal of things, but none matched the kiss we shared. You taught me to care. You taught me the most extraordinary things. It was all because of you. You're the reason I live. And here comes the answer you've been wanting, Lily. I love you. I love you with all my heart." He looked at her but she said nothing. "Will you not say something?"

She looked up at him, sad and afraid. "Do you really?"

"I dare not lie. Look at me in the eyes and tell me that I'm lying. Just say it!"

She stared into his eyes. His eyes were the deep colour of the moussy foams of the sea that formed when hit against large boulders. His eyes were stern yet filled with all sorts of wonderful complications. There was only truth in there.

"You really do love me," she managed to say weakly.

"Yes, I do. "

She did not answer back. She heaved a sigh.

"I cannot deny the fact that we've had many awkward situations together this school year," Tom said. "But I tried. I really have. I held on tight and I've decided to not let go."

"You really do care about me, don't you?" Lily chuckled as she wiped her tears away.

"Of course." And he helped her wipe her tears away.

Author's Note: I know. It's cheesy. It's lame. I just wanted to get this situation over with. Please forgive me!


	13. Lily or Power?

Author's Note: Lily and James should be together sometime soon, but not too soon. Perhaps in their seventh year. You'll have to see.

Previously: Tom and Lily reminisce about their first kiss. He wanted to remind her how much she meant to him, and she meant a lot. They are still at the tree. We pick up from where we left off.

Tom and Lily stood there, by the tree. They did not move. They did not speak. All they did was intensely stare at each other. Despite the bitter wind and the shivering cold, they stood there, immobile. It was two days into November, and people would have stopped going outside to loiter, to hang out, to do anything. But fortunately, there was no awkwardness within the silence between them. There were only warmth, love, and comfort between them. All they did was stand there and look at each other without saying a word. The weather and the temperature did not seem to bother them.

After a long moment, they have finally decided to go back inside, hand in hand.

That night, before Tom was to go out to meet his minions, he sat on his bed, thinking deeply once again. He loved this woman. He really did. But they both carried great pangs of guilt. Hers was the treacherous sort while his was most dangerous. She betrayed him and his love in the most horrible way. How was it the most horrible way? It was because she shared a kiss with a man whom she cared the least about. There was nothing more horrible than that. And how was Tom dangerous? He killed. He murdered. He slayed. He had people working for him, people doing his dirty job, completing his horrible tasks. Those horrible things were only done to innocent people. And the worst part was that love has not changed him or turned him into a good man. They said love won over evil, but it has not. Love simply resided with evil. He could not understand what was bothering her. He knew she was hiding something, but what? Something must have happened over the summer, but what? He knew she would give him no answer. And even though his reason for his guilt was ultimately dangerous, he did not felt it bothered   
him...until now. He loved her. Of course he did. But if he loved her, then why did he continue with his evil deeds if he knew it would hurt her? If he knew it would frighten her? He realized he could not decide which he loved more. Lily or power? But then again, what kind of power? The power he wanted to gain? The power that would make everyone fear his name? Or did he want the power that would surge through him every time he saw Lily? The power that grew in the kiss he would share with her? He could not decide.

Tom was outside on the edge of the Forbidden Forest once again at midnight. He waited as his followers arrived.

"So?Have you brought me their bodies?" he first asked.

"Yes sir," a boy replied as he brought one body wrapped in a large black garbage bag up to his leader.

Another boy brought up the other body in the same wrapping as well.

"What are we going to do with them, my Lord?" the boy asked, curious.

"I will use a spell to vanish them completely."

"Whoa, that's brilliant!" the purple haired girl, Violet, cried ecstatically.

Tom gave her a dirty look which silenced her.

"So, what are we going to do now?" another boy questioned.

Tom paced around before speaking. "Last year, I was strong and powerful. This summer,

I have read a great deal of books full of magic spells and magical potions. My mind was filled with such brilliant knowledge. Now, I am almost twice as stronger and more powerful as before. Have I not improved?"

Everybody gave each other glances, unable to answer.

"Tell me, did you realize an improvement?!" Tom bellowed.

Murmurs of yes travelled across the group, along with numerous nods of the head.

"Good. I know so many more spells now that could be much to my advantage. So what I want you to do is...to feed me with knowledge. I want you to find me more books of spells and potions. I also have a list." He handed one boy a list. "A list of things I need for the potions that are in process. I cannot find certain ingredients and I would very much like it if you found them for me. They do help lead my way to greatness."

"Oh yes, we understand, Sir," Peter Pettigrew said.

And as always, James was unseen, hidden in the bushes, watching the evil ones discuss.

The next day, James awoke to remember the things Tom and his friends have said the night before. But there was something odd, something not quite right. There was one voice whom he heard that sounded familiar, particularly familiar. But whose voice did it belong to? He could think of noone. It was too bad that he did not know the voice belonged to his own good friend, Peter Pettigrew.

He wondered whether he should tell his best friends, Remus, Sirius, and Peter about his eavesdroppings upon Tom and his gang. He was afraid that they would not believe him, and to him, rejection was the worst thing of all. It had been the worst thing ever since Lily Evans rejected him.

Author's Note: I'm sorry this chapter is so short and that I have provided you with very little. I will try and do better next time.


	14. Telling Sirius and Remus

Once again, James was acting differently. Christmas was fast approaching, which meant that days were to be busy. There were exams to worry about and there were Christmas gifts to get. It was the middle of November, and people began to remark James' differences. Before, when he was upset at the fact Lily turned him down, he seeked quiet and solitude. This time, he did not only seek quiet and solitude, but he also developed a very short temper, and was often hit by realistic nightmares. Sirius and Remus realized the changes in him quicker than the others. He snapped at them one time when they were working on a project together, which was very unlike James' character. He has even sleepwalked through the Gryffindor Common Room. Sirius and Remus also found him in his bed asleep, yet screaming at the top of his lungs, attacking pillows and blankets. They had to calm him down. As soon as they did, all he did was mumble words.

"Evil…danger…Riddle…Lily…must save…corpses…"

They had no idea what he was talking about, neither did they take great consideration to what he said.

But two weeks into November and they began to worry. They knew something has terribly upset him, but they did not know what. At first they thought it was just the fact that Lily rejected him, but no. It was much more. It was not just about Lily. It was about murders and dead bodies, evil and danger.

So one day at lunch, the two decided to give James a little visit in his dormitory room, who refused to come down to eat. They found him rocking himself on his bed, wrapped in his blankets and sheets. He did not seem to take notice of them.

"James? Are you alright there?" Sirius asked.

James looked up at his two buddies. "Noone followed you, did they?"

Sirius laughed. "Who would follow us? What purpose would that serve them?"

"You never know." He lowered his voice into a whisper. "This place is not safe."

"It's Hogwarts, James. There's nothing safer than Hogwarts," Remus laughed.

"Oh really? What about the time when the Basilisk was released eh? Was Hogwarts safe then? What about the three people who have gone missing? Harold, Henrietta, Marcus…"

Remus quickly became serious and lowered himself to meet James' eyes.

"I know what you mean, James. But you're lucky that you haven't been targeted yet. And besides, Harold left because he wanted to be out of his misery. Henrietta and Marcus probably just ran off and wanted to get married or something."

"No, no! I know what happened to them. I know the truth behind their disappearances!"

"Oh yeah right!" Sirius said, waving a hand at James to indicate that he was lying.

"No, really, I know! I did not see Harold's body but I have seen Henrietta and Marcus' corpses wrapped in large black garbage bags."

"Oh please."

Sirius rolled his eyes as Remus was willing to listen.

"That would explain why I've changed. It was traumatizing. I know who's behind all the dangers that occurred at Hogwarts. There's only person who's behind it. He caused it all."

"Isn't it Hagrid or something?"

"No. He's not really behind it. I know who's actually doing all this…evil."

"Oh yeah? Who?" Sirius mocked.

James leaned in to whisper. "Tom Riddle."

Remus stood back in disbelief. Sirius stepped back and laughed out loud, finding amusement in the accusation.

"You mean that bloke who got Lily before you did?"

"This isn't quite about Lily."

"I know you're jealous. I know you're raging of envy. It's why you chose that Tom Riddle guy. I can give you so many reasons why he cannot be the one."

"Fine. Then tell me."

"First of all, I don't think he has the time to care. Second of all, he is anything but evil. Just look at him. He looks like the most goodest person in the world!"

"Appearances can be deceiving," James growled.

"Third of all, he is so loyal to the school. He's a good student. He has all these medals and awards and everything. He's probably the most brilliant kid around," Sirius argued.

"Yes, brilliant, but evil as well."

"I don't believe it. I don't believe a bit of it," Remus said. "That cannot be. Everyone knows this kid. Popular, charming, everything! He did so well in school, in extra curricular activities, community services, in Quidditch too! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're jealous."

"Ugh! I am not jealous!" James cried, exasperated.

His friends gave him an inquisitive look.

"Ok fine. I am jealous but that isn't why I'm picking on Riddle. I know that Riddle's behind all of it."

"And how would you know?" Remus asked.

James was frustrated. He knew all along that noone would believe him and that he should not have said anything, but it was too late. He knew that he had no choice but to give an explanation, yet it irritated him to do so.

"If you don't believe me now, then what makes you think you'd believe me after I give you an explanation?"

"It would make more sense," Sirius pointed out.

So then, he told them everything that he could think of. From Myrtle's death to the last night he hid behind bushes, watching the meeting.

"That's crazy!" Sirius cried.

"Actually, I think what he's telling us might be true," said Lupin.

"What makes you think that?!"

"Think about it. Why would he make everything up? I don't think James would be willing to waste our time, and he's been acting very strangely."

"Exactly. If we don't stop Tom now, he can end up doing who knows what? He'd probably kill even more people, fulfill even more evil deeds!" James yelled.

"I'm sorry, James," Sirius apologized. "I just cannot believe that a sixteen year old would do such a thing. I refuse to help you stop him. I can do no such thing."

James looked at Remus desparately.

"I don't know, James. I'd rather just be left alone on that," Remus replied.

And they both left his room, leaving him in despair.

Author's Note: Okay. NEXT time I will make it longer. I'll try.


	15. Warning Lily

A/N: Sorry, it's been so long. Like a month or something. I've been very busy and I had trouble trying to continue the story, but here is another chapter.

James could not believe that his own best friends did not believe him. He was hoping so badly that he'd be able to convince them because it was very important to. He wasn't able to stop Tom Riddle by himself. He had only one best friend left to convince and it was none other than Peter Pettigrew. Just then, Peter entered, asking James what Sirius and Remus were mumbling about.

"I heard them say something about you going crazy and saying lunatic things."

"Peter, it's just that…I don't really want to say."

"And why not?"

"Because you'd never believe me."

"Try me."

"Look, if you don't believe me, I'll be terribly disappointed. I'll be sadder than I already am, Peter."

"Say it, James."

James drew a deep breath before answering. "I think Tom Riddle is a bad guy."

There was a short moment of silence, then Peter laughed. "Is that it? Your dislike for Riddle is a secret?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, I think he is really evil. You know when Hagrid petrified all those muggle borns with a Basilisk?"

"Yes."

"I don't think it's Hagrid. I think it's Riddle. And I know that for certain he is responsible for the deaths of Marcus, Henriette, and Harold."

Peter stepped back a bit, somewhat shocked. He was stunned at how James figured it all out. "How…are you so sure?"

"I saw him talk about it. He had meetings of some sort with all these hooded people. Look, I know it sounds totally insane but it's true! Besides, Tom Riddle really is insane. He's bloody crazy! He's got people working for him. He commands them to kill and to do all these horrid tasks."

Peter did not say a word. He was too busy wondering how James was able to discover all of this.

"I knew it. You don't believe me. Just forget it, Peter. Forget I said a word."

"How do you know about these meetings? Where have you seen them?"

"By the Forbidden Forest."

"And he hasn't caught you?"

"No, well not yet anyway. I've been hiding behind bushes the whole time."

Peter nodded thoughtfully.

"So you believe me," James asked, hope surmounting.

"I might. I just might."

Later that night, when it was almost bedtime, James had the urge to desperately go to Lily and warn her about Tom. Tom was even more dangerous than he had imagined, or even expected. He knew he vowed to never speak to her again but this time was urgent. Very urgent. It had been a long while since they had spoken to each other, and there was great awkwardness between them. Even if he held a slight grudge against her, and was afraid to

meet her again, it was no reason to prevent saving her life. It was necessary for him to see her once again. Her last words hurt him deeply and cut a small wound in his heart but he had no choice.

He went downstairs to the Gryffindor common room and found it empty save one person, Lily. She wanted to be alone and to rethink everything that has happened. The dead body she had seen still haunted her and she was feeling regrets about it.

The fire was still on with its flickering flames, casting dancing lights that surrounded the room. Lily was seated on a comfortable red velvet armchair.

"Lily?"

She turned around at the sound of her name and saw James slowly walking up to her.

"James? What are you doing here? I thought everyone's gone to bed."

"Everyone except for me. I wanted to speak to you."

She frowned. "I thought you never wanted to speak to me."

"NEVER WANTED to speak to you?! I've always wanted to speak to you. I just promised myself not to."

"I can see that you've broken your promise."

James sat on his knees on the carpeted floor right in front of her. "It's important. I've come here to warn you."

"About what? About Tom Riddle?"

"Yes."

"Oh please, James, I've had enough of your theories about my boyfriend."

"He's a murderer, Lily, a cold blooded murderer. You refuse to see it because you're in love with him, but he truly is. I saw him."

"You saw him kill?"

"Not quite. I saw him with a group of followers. He commanded them to kill. You know Harold and Henrietta and Marcus? They're all dead because of him. I saw Henrietta and Marcus' bodies."

"What? No, no you didn't. Tom didn't kill anybody. He wouldn't," Lily protested.

"He did. I saw him with his followers by the Forbidden Forest for two nights."

"Late at night? You probably didn't seen properly. It could not have been Tom."

"Oh, I saw Tom's face alright, and his voice is very distinct. His figure, his body, I recognize it. It's easy to tell, even at the darkest of the night. Henrietta, Marcus, and Harold did not just disappear. They DIED."

"I know Harold died," Lily muttered.

"What?"

"I know Harold died."

"How do you know?"

"He died right in front of us. I saw his fresh body. It was so horrible. But Tom didn't kill him. Tom was with me!"

"No but he ordered his group of followers to kill him."

"Why would he kill him? What did Harold ever do to him?"

"Nothing. I told you. They're all innocent. Tom is a sadistic, psychotic-"

"Shut up! Just shut up! I love Tom and he loves me. He wouldn't hurt a man."

James nodded very slowly. "You may think that love always wins over evil, but it does not. It simply resides with evil. Tom was responsible for all those petrifications as well. Not Hagrid. Besides, if you knew Harold was dead, why didn't you tell the Headmaster?"

"Because…because…Tom told me not to."

"That's because he's responsible for Harold's death!"

Lily shook her head vigorously. "I don't care what you say. I won't believe it."

"I didn't expect you to. I just want you to take what I said into thought, maybe even into consideration. I don't want you to get hurt, Lily. I don't want Tom to kill you too."

"Even if he was a murderer, he wouldn't kill me. He loves me. You don't kill someone you love unless there is good reason."

"He's crazy. He can do anything. He can kill you even if he loves you with all his heart."

"But he can't live without me!"

"I'm sure he can. What he can't live without is power. Just watch yourself, Lily. And please, whatever you do, don't tell Tom I told you this."

"I won't," Lily whispered.

"Good night." And so James left Lily into even deeper thought.


	16. Sudden Change of Thought

For the next couple of weeks, Lily was acting a bit strange around Tom. He asked her what was the matter but of course she refused to respond. She would repeat to herself, "Is he a murderer? It's so possible. All the clues lead up to it. No wait. No way. He is not a murderer. He just can't be."  
The idea of Harold's body no longer pursued her mind but sometimes, when she just had to dig deep, the memory would resurface and haunt her all over again. Tom never spoke about it again, nor did Lily bring the subject up. It was too horrifying to announce it aloud.  
Also, Peter told Tom about James discovering their meetings. At first Tom would not believe it. He did not think it possible.

It was late January. The sky was black save the pale moonlight sending bright glitters of shine across the frosted grass, covered in melting, slushy snow. The winds were light but chilly, howling softly in the night. Tom, clothed in a grey cloak himself, was standing in front of his hooded members, except for Peter, who was told not to attend this particular meeting.

"My dear friends, I have been informed that you have all improved your powers and knowledge in the art of magic. Is that correct?"

"Yes, Lord," a boy answered.

"Well I want to inform you all that there has been a very big problem since Halloween time."

"What are you talking about?" another asked.

Many murmurs were heard from the group.

"One of you will die tonight."

"What!"

"And when I mean you, that includes James Potter!"

Even more louder murmers were heard. People looked around, back and forth, to find James. Tom pointed him out behind a bush not too far away.

"You there! James! Why don't you come out and present yourself, hm?"

James stood up silently, trembling, and walked over to the group. They all looked at him hungrily.

"My dear James, please, tell us what you're doing behind that silly bush? Wouldn't you rather stand in a nice spot like this instead of crouching painfully behind a dirty thing like a bush?" Tom asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"I'm not doing anything."

"You were eavesdropping, weren't you? For how many days have you been there? How many times have you listened to our private conversations, our meetings?"

Instead of answering, James exploded, rudely pointing his finger at Tom.

"You! You're an evil freak! You're a liar! A demon! You killed all these people! You're the blame for so many awful things!"

Tom laughed a high cold laugh.

"And you know what! You're going to end up killing Lily!" James continued.

"Kill Lily? I would _never_ do that. I love her. Don't you already know that?"

"It's a lie! It's pretend!"

Tom walked up to James and grabbed him by the collar in a very rough manner. His face began to redden as he spoke with much anger.

"Whatever you do, don't say that. I love Lily, alright? So don't you dare say that it's pretend because it certainly is not. I love her more than I ever thought I could. Of all the people in her life, I love her most alright, so don't you dare say that!"

"I don't believe you. You're dangerous. You'll kill her like you did to the other people!"

"I wouldn't hurt her. I wouldn't dare! What don't you understand!"

"You're a crazy man, Riddle," James said calmly. "Who knows what you think?"

Riddle calmed down and let out an irritated sigh. "You don't have any proof, do you?"

"What?"

"You don't have any proof on me. You probably told a whole bunch of people that those three students died and that it was all my fault. And they didn't believe you, did they? I mean c'mon, Potter, who are they going to believe? A brilliant young student like me or a mischievous hoodlum like you, someone who always gets in trouble for the silliest reasons?"

"Maybe nobody knows what you really do, but I do, and soon enough, Lily will too!"

Tom let out yet another cold piercing laugh.

"And who will Lily believe, hm? The only man who loves her or a boy who tries just too hard? I think she knows who to believe in, Potter. It's not right to make decisions for somebody else. And since you are of very little threat to me, I'm not even going to waste my time to dispose of you."

He took out a wand from inside his cloak and pointed it ominously at a defenseless James. He then mumbled a few words from a spell, and with a flick of his wand, James fell completely unconscious.

It was a bright morning on a school day. Sirius rushed in to wake a very sleeping James up. James woke, feeling severely dizzy.

"Wake up, mate, or you're going to be late for class!" Sirius warned.

"What?"

"School's about to start soon. You slept late, I presume?"

"I believe so."

"Well get ready. I'll meet you in the Great Hall for breakfast," Sirius said before exiting the room.

James sat up. Not only did he feel dizzy, but he felt as if he couldn't remember anything, as if his memory of his recent whereabouts were lost. He could not recall what had caused him to be in such a sleepy and tiresome state, and what had happened the day before. There was a very strange feeling that surpassed him, and no longer how long he sat there to think, trying to remember, he could not. He finally gave up and got out of bed to get ready for breakfast.

James entered the Great Hall, which was, as usual, filled with great crowds of noise and loud chattering students. He sat at his table unable to eat. Lily, who sat not far from him, looked at him with a very odd gaze. She had not spoken to him ever since he warned her about Tom. She did not dare. She looked at him with concern, wondering why he was unable to touch his food, but she decided not to speak afterall.

"What's wrong?" Remus, who sat beside him, asked.

"Something doesn't feel right."

"What doesn't?"

"I can't seem to put my finger on it. I just don't feel natural, that's all."

James finally ate, but with much discomfort. He took his bites slowly, trying to figure out what was wrong. He felt he was being watched. He looked up and saw Tom Riddle sitting across at the Slytherin table giving him a disturbing stare. He was confused.

'Why is Tom looking at me like that?' James asked himself in thought, but could not discover why.

A smile, one that seemed very much mocking and satisfying, spread across Tom's face. Yes, he was definitely satisfied with the outcome. James no longer remembered. That was his plan after all, and it had worked.

Not long after, Lily paid a visit to James in a random hallway. He was walking to class when she finally caught up to him.

"Lily?"

"James, I want to speak to you."

"About what?"

"About the Tom thing."

"What Tom thing?"

"You know, about Tom being evil and all!" Lily replied.

James laughed. "What are you talking about? Tom is perhaps one of the most brilliant trusting students Hogwarts has ever faced! Tom being evil? He is such a good person!"

Lily began to get very irritated. "What! But you claimed him to be evil just a few weeks ago! Why the sudden change of mind?"

"What sudden change of mind? I never thought Tom as a bad person at all. Nope. Not at all."

"_Anyways_, I just wanted to tell you that I've been thinking about it and I really don't know what to say. I just don't want you to ever mention Tom in front of my face again, ok? It'll make our lives easier that way."

"No, Lily, I seriously don't know what you're talking about," James told her, confusion arising.

"You remember at the Gryffindor Common Room? When you came down late at night to warn me about-"

"Yes."

"Well…?"

"I don't remember what I said to you that night."

"About Tom."

"Now, why would I talk about Tom? Not everything's evolved around your boyfriend, Lily," James snapped.

"But-"

"I've got to go, Lily," James said before backing up then rushing off.

She stood there, red in the face, infuriated. How could he warn her about Tom for so long and pretend he never did after so much time? What nerve! She stomped off, angry, and vowing to never go near James again.


	17. Caught in the Act

She was angrily stomping through a corridor when she bumped into Tom without even realizing he was there.

"Oh, sorry!" she said as soon as she knocked into him.

"No problem, Lily. Besides, it was my fault. Where are you headed?"

"Charms class."

"I'll see you in Potions, then?"

"Uh yeah."

When she was about to walk off, he called her once again.

"Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Are you…alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you seem kind of frustrated."

"I am."

"How come?"

She sighed. "I don't know want to talk about it, Tom, but thanks for your concern."

Tom nodded and left. Perhaps it had something to do with James…

Charms class ended and Potions was about to start soon. Lily and Tom were on their way to class together when they struck up a conversation about Lily's behaviour.

"Lily, I want to talk about something."

"Yes?"

"You've been acting uh…strange lately."

"Strange? How so?"

He brought her to a secluded corner of a hallway, a dark and cobweb filled area.

"Oh Tom, please don't tell me our relationship is in trouble again."

"I wouldn't know, Lily, you tell me."

"What do you mean?"

Tom looked around before saying a word. "You seem distracted by something, as if some awful thing had occupied your mind. I know that this year it's been tough. Not only for you but for the both of us, and I know that there's something that has stained your mind, something that hasn't left. That body was a _dreadful_ thing, Lily, I must admit. It scared the both of us, but you can't let everything get in the way of our relationship. I want to know what's been bothering you lately. That's what I'm here for, you know that, right?"

Lily obviously did not want to tell Tom. Telling Tom that he was claimed to be an evil wizard who killed many people? Uh…no, she did not think so. But she was frustrated for sure. That was all of James' fault. He had to aggravate her with his accusations of Tom being not what he seemed, then pretend he had never made such accusations.

"It's James," she finally huffed.

"James?" Tom's eyebrows raised. He was somewhat confused.

"He's so annoying. He wouldn't leave me alone. He got me in such a bad mood this morning."

'Hm, so I was right. It is about James,' Tom thought. "What did he do?"

"He…he just denies all these things that he's ever said."

"What did he say?"

"Lots of things. I just don't ever want to have to face that boy again," Lily concluded.

"Don't worry. It'll be done."

It was the beginning of lunch time. Most people were already enjoying their meal in the Great Hall, but not James. Neither was Lily. She was busy trying to finish off a school project in the Gryffindor Common Room when James entered. There was noone there but the two. She looked up to see who it was and when she saw that it was him, she looked back down quickly, ignoring him.

"Lily."

She did not say a word nor did she urge a move. She continued with her project, working on the floor. James approached her and mumbled a bit.

"I want to uh…apologize for my behaviour today. I'm sorry I snapped."

She did not answer back. There was a long moment of strange silence.

"Oh Lily, I really am sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that." He sighed. "It's just that…well…I am kind of jealous you see. I never really stopped fancying you."

She finally looked up, but slowly. "I was hoping you'd be over it."

"So was I. I mean, I didn't like you anywhere as much as I originally had, especially the time when we kissed that summer-"

Lily winced. "Please. Don't mention that."

"There are still some feelings lingering around in me. But I thought about it in class today and realized that I was being rude. I'm sorry."

He turned to leave but she stopped him.

"James. That's not why I got so upset today."

He turned back to face her. "What?"

She sighed and got up, spreading her shirt and pants more smoothly. She fiddled with her hands and fingers for a bit before speaking. "Why did you have to say all these bad things about my boyfriend like that, James?"

"I told you, I'm sorry."

"Why did you say them, then dismiss them all of a sudden! It was so unexpected, coming from you. I mean, it's alright to change your mind about Tom and finally see the light of him, but at least admit that you _have_ said bad things about him, and that you even accused him of murder!"

James stepped back, somewhat shocked. "Murder? Lily, I do admit that I've said some unpleasant things about your boyfriend but that was only out of jealousy, little else. I would never accuse him of murder, that's the least I can say! Tom is the most brilliant student around. He is a good person, just a bit protective of his girl, that's all."

"Why must you deny this!" Lily screamed.

"Lily, are you alright?" James asked after a very brief period of silence. He was obviously confused. He did not know what was going on.

"I knew it. I should just ignore you, forget everything that've you said! You make me so horribly angry, James Potter! Leave me alone! Never speak to me again!"

She bent down, grabbed her stuff quite hastily, and headed towards her dormitory room without a word. He was left standing there in awkward confusion.

For the next several months, nothing special occurred. James was obviously struck with a spell to forget about Tom's murderous capabilities and so he no longer spied on the meetings, nor did he accuse Tom of anything. Lily ignored James completely, and continued a lovely relationship with her boyfriend. Sirius didn't take James' murder accusations of Tom's to heart. He realized that James no longer spoke of that, nor did he try to convince anyone anything, so he decided to leave it alone. And Peter was still safe with his secret relation to Tom. But one thing was changed yet still remained unknown. Remus was the only who actually took James' accusations into thought, and has decided to investigate.

It was almost the end of the school year. The students in their sixth year, including Tom, Lily, James, etc, were about to quickly move to their seventh and last. It was the beginning of June, a hazy summer night, providing a weather of moisty warmth and a sky of trembling gold stars.

It was just past midnight. Everyone was supposed to be in bed enjoying a nice night's sleep. Well, everyone was _supposed_ to, not that everyone did. Of course, Tom and his gang members were outdoors by the edge of the Forbidden Forest, making plans.

Lately, Remus has had his mind strangely occupied of suspicions about Tom. He had done a bit of spying, with little success of discovering the evil in him. He had also tried to take whatever Tom had to say into mind, and tried to twist it into something wicked, but could not. Tom was too clever to let his evil protrude but that did not discourage Remus at all. He was determined to finding out what had given his friend James this awful idea, and would not give up until after much thought and research.

But there was something about that night. Remus had tried to fall asleep, and have, but constantly woke up. He decided a nice walk would do, even though that was against the school rules.

He thought to himself, "Hey, I can get a nice walk and maybe also stumble upon Tom in the act of an evil deed. A walk outside is worth it."

And so he stood from his bed, changed into proper clothes, grabbed his wand, and left his room. After passing through the Gryffindor Common Room, he was out in the hall, headed for the main entrance.

He exited the building, cautiously looking around to avoid anything dangerous, and finally kept his cool, gave a sigh, and relaxed. The cool breeze gently whipped his hair He walked for some time, perhaps a few minutes shorter than ten, when he heard some noises. His fingers tightly grasped the wand, aiming it high and ahead of him, prepared for any sudden attack. But there was none. He looked to see that out far in front of him was a band of dark cloaked hooded people. Luckily, he was unseen, thanks to the many bushes and shrubberies.

"Is the potion ready?" a voice asked.

Sirius tried to look more closely, and saw that it was Tom who had spoken. He was up in front, ahead of the many hooded people. Only he was not hooded. His face was quite clear, especially how it lit up with the glowing full moon from behind.

"Not yet, Sir," a member said.

"And why not? It was supposed to rest for two months. It's been two months!"

"Not quite, Sir," the same member said. "You see, something's happened. I believe you'll have to wait another month."

There was silence, one that was hoped for by someone who did not want to know Tom's reaction.

"What are you talking about?" Tom asked camly.

"We messed it up, you see," Violet confessed.

"You…what?"

"We mixed a couple of the ingredients and was missing one. We didn't want to get you angry and-"

"What! So you decided not to inform me about this earlier! I don't understand. Do I have to wait another month because you made the second of the same potion a month ago?"

"That's correct, Sir," another voice replied.

Tom was fuming. He breathed in and out very deeply-and very angrily, and his eyes were glowering with so much fury that his followers began to step back a bit with much fear.

"You incompetent fools! Ugh!"

"Why it so important to have it this soon? Why can't you just wait a month?" Violet asked daringly.

"Because that potion would make me gain a new kind of power, one that is barely seen in witches and wizards nowadays. It would enable me to perform a great amount of spells and enchantments. The school year's about to end, Violet, and I cannot wait until the middle of the summer to gain this terrible power! The point was so that I would be able to use it during the entire summer, my free time. I'm an impatient man, you know that!"

"So what are we going to do?" cried a follower.

"Nothing at the moment…except for this."

Tom held his wand high, quickly pointed it at the follower who last cried 'what are we going to do' and mumbled a spell. Soon enough, the follower was screeching in extreme pain, burning in thick fiery flames of vivid blue and red, until there was nothing left but ashes. The rest of the band were struck with fear. They all backed up, and they either had their eyes wide open, or their mouths wide open, or even both. Remus, still hidden in his secure area, was completely shocked. He started to hyperventilate a bit and could barely move. Tom uttered a high laugh of pure evil, one that chilled the bones of many.

"Wasn't that…entertaining?" he asked, amused and feeling pleasant.

Of course, the group could not speak. Perhaps they were not good, but they were definitely not _entirely_ evil. They had just lost their own friend, and for the very worst reason.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Tom demanded. "Now, answer me, was that entertaining or not?"

Low mutters of 'yes' travelled across the group.

"Good. Now, tomorrow morning in class, his death would surely be noticed. So whatever happens, we don't know a thing about what happened to him, alright?"

More mutters of 'yes' travelled across the group, along with a few nods.

"Excellent. Now, this meeting is dismissed."


	18. Convinced Remus

A/N: Sorry, but there's really little James in here. He's going to come up more later. Don't worry. And I'm taking a really long time writing this because I've been packed with so much work!

Previously: Remus saw Tom burning someone to flames. What happens next?

As soon as the words "This meeting is dismissed," escaped Tom's mouth, Remus started to run as fast as he could back to the Hogwarts building. The wind slapped his face as he ran with all the might his legs provided. He was too afraid to look back. Perhaps Tom had seen him run away, or even worse-perhaps Tom had seen him and decided to immediately chase after him. Remus stumbled over a large branch at some point during his run. He fell, hurt, and got back up as quickly as he could, trying hard to ignore the searing pain in his arms and legs.

He finally entered the building and safely got back to his dorm room. He did not know what to think nor did he know what to do. He was thinking of telling James, begging for forgiveness, agreeing that he had been correct the whole time. But he could not bring himself to do that. He sat on his bed, wide awake for almost two hours before he drifted off to an uncomfortable sleep.

The next morning, he woke extra early to be sure to talk to James before anyone would be able to hear. He woke James up at around six am. It took a while to successfully wake him, but he finally managed to.

"Remus…what time is it?"

"It's six o'clock."

"What? What the hell are you waking me up so early for?"

"I need to speak to you. It's important."

"Can't that wait?"

Remus stood silent for a short moment before grabbing James by the collar. "It's bloody important!"

"What is it?"

"You know about Tom? All those horrible things you've said about him? You were right. You were right the whole time. They were true."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about!"

Remus heaved an enormous sigh before explaining once again. "There was this enormous time period where you didn't act quite like yourself. Sirius and I asked you what was wrong. You told us about Tom and everything. We didn't believe you but now I'm finally convinced."

James was still very confused. "I didn't say anything about Tom."

"Yes you did! How dare you deny it!"

"But I didn't!"

"Don't make me angry now, James."

"I seriously do not know what you're talking about."

Remus let out another sigh. He left to go back to his own room without a word, disappointed and exasperated. He felt sad; nobody believed him and nobody was listening to him. He then understood how James sometimes felt. Remus felt very alone, isolated in his own little place. There was noone to confide in, there was noone to speak to.

It was lunch time, and Lily and Tom were wandering together around the school. Tom

was in a very bad mood, obviously because his potion was not ready, but of course, he

wouldn't admit that to Lily.

"You seem to be in a bad mood."

"I am."

"Can I help in any way?"

Tom shook his head. "No, no I don't think so."

"Are you sure about that?"

Tom looked at her for a moment. He didn't want to endanger her in any way. He shook his head again. He realized that he was also sad because it was very near the end of the school year, and he would have to spend the summer without her. They sat down at a bench nearby.

"Tom, listen…I want to propose something to you."

"What?"

Lily took his hands into hers. "I know you hate the orphanage, and that you'd stay here at Hogwarts for the summer, but what if I bring you home, hm?"

Tom was a bit shocked at her proposal. He badly wanted to go to her home and live with her, but he had to also drink the potion and work on spells and enchantments at Hogwarts. Besides, he hated muggles. They were the ones who treated him so badly at that orphanage. Originally, Lily's parents were against him, if you so recall, but Lily really brought her grades up and wrote to her parents that it was Tom who had helped her in her studies.

Noticing the silence, Lily continued, "You can meet my parents. They already agreed to it. They're afraid to meet you, but they're willing to."

Tom shook his head. "I'm not so sure if that's a good idea."

"And why not? You're one of Hogwarts' best students. You're a role model, you're practically perfect! My parents are bound to love you!"

"Lily, I don't care whether your parents love me or not," he said, more rudely than he had meant.

She looked down, a slight pain in her expression.

He continued, "Even if your parents hate me, I'm not going to leave you. They're not going to affect our relationship in any way…"

"But it's not just that. I mean, this way we can spend time together, and hang out."

"Hang out and do what?"

"I don't know…take a walk in the park, go to the beach… It would be so lovely. It would mean a lot. Besides, I think that can bring our relationship to a further step. You do love me, don't you?"

Tom sighed. "I'm…actually busy. I've already made plans for the summer and-"

"So why not just do whatever you planned to do with me?"

"Oh no, you wouldn't understand."

"What wouldn't I understand?"

How was he going to explain to her that he planned to increase his knowledge and power in magic just to be the strongest wizard in the world? Lily was too weak for that, too vulnerable to even bear the idea. So he had decided to talk about something else, but something similar.

"Lily, we're going to our seventh year, correct? Where do you imagine yourself to be after that year? What do you imagine yourself doing? Where do you think you'd live?

And with whom?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I really don't. I haven't given much thought to it. All I know for sure is that I'm going to be with you. Perhaps we'll live together, do some work, get some jobs, continue our magic… I remember we talked about this earlier, but it wasn't very clear. I was thinking of just being a normal muggle again, one who knows of magic, and how to use it."

Tom winced. He definitely did not want to take part in a muggle life, never. Seeing his reaction, Lily continued, "but of course, I'm going to be with you, and I know how you have this certain…thing…against muggles, so we'll lead lives as a witch and wizard."

Actually, before Lily had even entered his life, Tom had imagined his life to be one of solitude, where he would roam the world alone, searching for power, meeting new wizards and witches and making deals with them about magical spells…But things changed. Perhaps he can gradually persuade her to be evil? To join him and willingly approve? Yes, that was what he had to do. That was his plan.

"Lily," he said, "I'll think about your proposition."

"Alright," she sighed, hoping his reply would later be positive.

They were in Potions, both the Gryffindors and the Slytherins. It was the same day, and the teacher, Mr Warwick, was taking attendance. There was someone missing from class.

"Could someone please tell me what happened to Drake Barkin please?" he asked.

Drake Barkin was obviously the boy Tom had burnt with flames to ashes the previous night. Tom's followers nervously looked at each other, then at Tom. Heseemed perfectly relaxed and cool as he put his head back and crossed his arms in such a casual manner.

"Tom Riddle, since you are the Head Boy, you have certainly verified the entire Slytherin common room and dormitories, correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"So have you seen him?"

"I have not, Sir. I thought he left for class, like all the others. And if he went anywhere, he didn't inform me."

"Well if anybody sees him, tell him to come see me."

Without suspecting anything bad has happened to Drake Barkin, Warwick soon began the new lesson. In the middle of it, Remus was watching Tom quite cautiously, being specifically aware of Tom's actions. Noone noticed this, not even Tom, except for Sirius.

"What are you doing, watching him like that?" Sirius asked.

"What?"

"You're not in love with the bloke, are you?"

Remus snapped out of it. "No, of course not! I'm just being attentive, that's all."

"Of Tom Riddle?" Sirius laughed mockingly. "What? What is it that's so interesting about him?"

"Shut up. Stop making fun of me. This is important."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Look, remember when James accused Tom of all those horrid things?"

"Oh please. Don't remind me."

"Well you're about to be reminded. I believe James now?"

"Now? Out of the blue? After several months and all of a sudden you're convinced?" Sirius whispered loudly.

The people around shot him looks and Sirius immediately excused himself. He then continued talking to Remus, but in a much quieter tone. "What's gotten into you, Remus?"

"You realize that James stopped talking on that, right?"

"He gave up, that's all. He finally decided to stop his little annoying charade because he knew none of us liked it."

"I don't know his reason, but what I'm saying is that I've given it some thought and I did a bit of um…Tom Riddle spying."

"You spied on the Head Boy? I bet it gave you nothing."

"Actually, it gave me a lot. It's completely convinced me that Tom Riddle is an evil maniac who seeks nothing but power."

"And what did you see?"

Remus lowered his head to make sure that nobody, not one person, would be able to hear, especially Tom, and whispered, "I saw Tom committing murder. Drake Barkin."

The conversation between the two of them went quiet for a very short moment, then Sirius retorted with a laugh. Remus gave a small punch on his arm and ground his teeth. People, once again, shot them looks.

"Hey, some of us are _actually_ trying to listen!" a boy angrily whispered nearby.

Sirius apologized once more for his disruptive behaviour and told Remus to talk about it later at lunch in the Great Hall.

It was lunch time and the students were enjoying their meal in the Great Hall.

"So tell me, how did Tom kill Drake?" Sirius asked Remus teasingly, but quietly so that noone could hear.

"He burned him to flames."

"Oh please. That's the worst thing you can come up-"

"Sirius, I saw him!" Remus exploded, causing several people around to look at them oddly.

Remus apologized before they went back to their own business of eating.

"So you saw him kill Drake eh?"

"I saw him kill Drake _alive_."

Sirius had much trouble believing Remus, but he looked at his best friend and saw nothing but deep pain and horror in his expression. A chill sled down his spine.

"You come with me, ok Sirius? You come with me one of these nights and we'll spy on Tom together. You'll see that I was right? Ok?"

Sirius nodded, not knowing what he had just agreed to.


End file.
